Finding Home
by Aryia Lexi Sevorus
Summary: Abused by the Dursleys, Harry is abandoned in the United States and discovered by the NCIS team. Will Gibbs be able to put the pieces back together? hurt/comfort. Rated M.
1. Prologue

Please know that I don't own Harry Potter or the NCIS franchises, these characters were not my invention and I gain nothing but the satisfaction of writing from using them.

Please withhold flames or foul language if you decide to grant me a review as this is my first ever fanfiction.

Prologue

Seven year old Harry Potter was curled into a ball in the cupboard under the stairs of number four Privet Drive. His back and bum were bleeding from the thrashing that his Uncle Vernon had given him just hours before. The beating with the cane hadn't been so bad- it would only have left welts- but in trying not to make a sound, Uncle Vernon had decided that he was clearly not hitting hard enough and switched to the belt. Harry felt a shiver roll down his spine; he'd almost cried out. However he kept his noise to a whimper. Whimpers weren't allowed either, but whimpering during a beating seemed to please his Uncle… the beatings would briefly get worse, but would be over in three to five hits.

Harry stretched out and tried not to cry out. He didn't want to draw attention to his cupboard. The whipping he'd received was one of the worst yet. His uncle had been raging that he'd ruined a business meeting to the States. He'd yelled, dripping spittle as he went, that "somebody knows that the boy's with us" and they "paid to have the Boy taken with [them] to [the] DC" business trip.

Harry supposed that that was why he was being denied food for the next week… they wanted to punish him for being forced to take them along and wanted to make sure that no "funny business" occurred while on the trip by keeping him weak. While Harry was smarter by far than the average child, he was helpless in the face of his family's hatred. The few times he'd attempted to defend himself against his Uncle using his Green Power had been the times that his Uncle had decided that normal punishments weren't enough and went further. The pain that Harry endured as his Uncle raped him was too extreme to classify as a beating. No. It had been torture to his younger self.

His brain refused to think too much on those punishments though, so he turned his attention to the cupboard floor. On it were two loose floor boards that stashed his scrap food supply and the trash that came with them. Carefully taking out a water bottle and some beef jerkey, Harry took a sip and a strip of the meat and chewed slowly. He'd found out the hard way that his body needed meat more than it needed crisps after a bloody beating. Reasoning that he'd need the water and the rest of the beef for the rest of the week, he carefully placed the water and food back into the floor and covered up the hole with the floor board again.

The light from under the door had dwindled while he ate so Harry decided to try a trick that he'd discovered when he was four. It tired him out enough to sleep without nightmares, even after a beating, but he had to be sure that his _family-_ he mentally sneered the word- was asleep or the consequences weren't something he could bare to think about.

Thinking about light, he reached inside himself where he could feel the Green Power and mentally grabbed it and lead it to each of his hands. They started to glow a tired blue light. However, to ensure he was able to sleep he tried the difficult part- numbing the pain without taking away the marks of the beating. Holding his breath, he mentally reached into the Green Power and pushed a couple strands towards his back and bum thinking about lukewarm water and the lack of pain or satisfaction that it brought. The pain began to fade away from his form and he finally relaxed into the blood and tear stained mattress beneath him.

As he relaxed, Harry released the light in his hands before falling into sleep.

Thanks for reading the beginning of this work! If you're interested in becoming a beta (or explaining to me how I could go about finding one) I would appreciate hearing from you!


	2. Chapter 1- The Shower

The usual disclaimers apply; I don't own Harry Potter or NCIS, nor do I benefit from the use of these characters beyond the satisfaction of their inclusion in my works.

Chapter 1– The Shower

As Harry traversed the terminal of the Ronald Regan Washington National Airport he made sure to stay a couple feet behind the Dursleys. He was being forced to drag two roller bags behind himself and didn't want to risk them bumping into one of his relations; the "reminder" beating he'd received before boarding the plane was still fresh in his mind and God forbid he be caught assaulting their perfect Duddlikins.

Uncle Vernon was in a particularly foul mood during the flight because, due to having his family along on this trip, he was required to fly economy class instead of first class. His bulk didn't easily fit into the average seats and the eight hour flight was rather uncomfortable. Naturally he blamed Harry.

Dudley was being particularly whiney and complaining that he had to wait until they had reached a taxi, arrived at their hotel, and unpacked, before going to the Air and Space museum. Granted, it sounded more like "Mooooommmm, I wanna see the space ship. I wanna see the space ship. I wanna see the space ship. You said we could see the spaceship today" rather than any coherent form of complaint about waiting.

Harry mentally scoffed when this was accompanied by a handful of false tears, clucking by Petunia, and many promises that they'd be at the spaceships soon and- even better- they'd even leave the Freak in the hotel room for the outing.

Harry was relieved when they finally met up with the taxi and were soon transported to their hotel room… maybe he could take a shower while the Dursleys were out of the room? Perhaps he could even use hot water since the price wouldn't go up because he did. The Dursleys wouldn't know. With this thought in mind, Harry remained quiet when an airplane blanket was pushed into his hands and he was shunted into the closet and told not to come out until he was told to.

The Dursleys quickly unpacked and were out of the room within a half hour. Harry waited an extra half hour before making his move. He quietly opened the door to the closet, thankful that he couldn't be locked into it like his cupboard back home. He tiptoed into the bathroom and prayed that the Dursleys hadn't counted the towels before leaving. He hesitated for a moment before carefully pealing out of his jumper, turning on the hot water, and shucking off both his pants and trousers. He'd left his shoes in the closet. Harry took a moment to examine his back and bum in the mirror. His back displayed a myriad of scars all layered under old and new wounds. Some of the wounds were weeping pus while others were clearly scabbed over. Some were dripping blood down his back because removing his shirt had dislodged the scabs covering them.

 _On second thought_ , he considered, _I'd best not have the water on hot._

Harry lowered the temperature of the water before stepping into the mildly warm shower. He was relieved to discover that the water pressure was set at a gentle rain flow rather than the blast he was used to from the hose back home.

While he knew that the soap packed by the Dursleys was off limits he was gratified to find a shampoo dispenser located on the shower wall.

 _If I use the dispenser, they won't know that I made use of the shower,_ he thought.

He gently reached his hand up to the shampoo dispenser and rubbed the soap into this hair. As he turned his back into the spray to rinse out the shampoo, the water ran pink with his blood. Because he couldn't reach all the wounds to clean them, he took another glop of shampoo and washed his hair again so that he could let the soapy suds run over his aching back.

Before he could relax much more, though, he turned off the shower and stepped out of the tub, dripping pink water as he went. Seeing the blood-water on the floor put him off the idea of using a towel… he wouldn't be able to clean it properly before the Dursleys returned. Deciding on this course of action, Harry decided to step back into the shower and used his pants to dry off what he could before placing them back on his body. They were damp and more bloody than they were before, but they had managed to dry off the worst wet from his frame. He pulled his trousers on after that and then placed his soiled jumper on as well.

Stepping from the tub, Harry set about cleaning up the pink water where it had dripped onto the floor before carefully placing the toilet paper into the toilet, relieving himself, and flushing away the evidence. He then carefully centered himself before reaching for the Green Power within himself and bringing it to his hands. Running his hands over the wet tub, he removed all the water droplets he could find within the shower and on the curtain.

Checking that the bathroom was as it was before the Dursleys left, he walked silently back to the closet, laid down, and drifted to sleep.

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Harry was awoken by the sound of screeching for him to get up and make the beds. He quickly did as he was told and hurried to straighten Dudley's full size bed first before moving to his Aunt and Uncle's. When he finished, Aunt Petunia spanked him for daring to walk barefoot around the room. He was ordered to put on his trainers before being shunted out the door for the sake of getting breakfast ready for the group to eat downstairs.

This time Harry walked slightly quicker than the group down to the continental dining area that he'd seem when arriving yesterday. He hurriedly got the waffle maker going for Vernon and Dudley while grabbing fruit and yogurt to deliver to Petunia. When the folks around them murmured about how good of a boy Harry was to be helping out his family as he had so, for appearances sake, Petunia got up to retrieve some dried, and slightly out of date, cereal from the counter for Harry to snack on during breakfast.

When finished, Harry cleared off their places before following after family on the way out of the hotel.

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Thanks for reading so far guys! I know this was a relatively short chapter, but I figured it's longer than the Prologue, so I'm getting somewhere! I'll try to update again tomorrow!


	3. Chapter 2- The Zoo

The usual disclaimers apply; I don't own Harry Potter or NCIS, nor do I benefit from the use of these characters beyond the satisfaction of their inclusion in my works.

Chapter 2- The Zoo

Harry was led by the Dursleys to a car they had rented the night before. Before he was allowed into the vehicle, however, Uncle Vernon leaned down into his face and spat out, "Lazy sod, don't you dare scuff up this vehicle, make a noise while were driving, or- so help me god- I will give you a thrashing like you've never before been given."

Harry nodded quickly before scampering into the vehicle. He dreaded the beating he knew he was going to get; Dudley had heard that threat and there was no way that Harry would avoid the blame that Dudley was sure to heap upon him. His stomach curled in knots and he wished to anything that he'd been forced to stay in the closet again… unfortunately, maid service was due to come through today and the Dursleys wanted to be able to show off how clean they were. That, and bask in the feeling of having real servants take care of their bedding and laundry.

Harry leaned into the car…despite Dudley's poking and pinching of him, he resolved to enjoy his outing to the United States. He recalled the kindergarten teacher reciting the names of the big countries on the map and he was determined that if the States was the land of plenty, he would do his best to get the most out of the trip regardless of his uncle's threats.

Aunt Petunia spoke up first, "So dear, what is on the schedule today? I hear that there is a nice zoo not too far from here and it shouldn't cost too much to go for a visit."

Uncle Vernon grunted," We can do that just as soon as I visit the coffee shop. Dudley and I could do with a bite after the meager breakfast that we had earlier. The Freak was clearly taking advantage of our charity this morning when he brought us our treys."

Dudley screwed up his face and started to chant, " I wanna chocky bicky. I wanna chocky bicky. I wanna chocky bicky."

"See Pet" said Vernon, "my dear boy is clearly starving to want a chocolate biscuit this early in the day."

"Of course, dear" answered Petinua while glaring at Harry for daring to starve her little diddlicome.

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After stopping in a doughnut and coffee shop, Uncle Vernon and Dudley demolished a dozen doughnuts, only sparing one for Aunt Petunia and none for Harry. However, Harry could see the vindictive glint in Dudley's eye when he was smearing his powder and frosting covered hands over the back seat of the car while smirking at his cousin.

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When they reached the Zoo, Vernon was incensed by the mess in the back of the car. Grabbing Harry by the scruff of the neck, he hauled him out of the car and kneed him in the ribs hard enough that Harry was certain that some of them cracked. It was not going to be an easy day walking around the zoo with two cracked ribs.

Breathing slightly, Harry stood up straight, bit down the pain, and remained silent. There was no way that he would give Vernon an even more blatant reason for correcting him.

As they explored the zoo, they found it much like any other; there were areas set aside for the big cats, the grassland animals, the birds, the monkeys. There was even a Snake Pit that Dudley was aching to go see. Harry kept quiet while licking at his lemon pop- the cheapest thing on the menu when the serving lady cornered his Aunt into buying something for him earlier in the tour. He'd nodded his head in thanks to her. Naturally Dudley and Vernon got a triple scoop banana cream Sunday each. Neither of which offered thanks when receiving them, though.

Eventually Dudley couldn't wait any longer to for the Snake Pit, and tossed out a third of his Sunday before dragging his parents toward the exhibit. It was a dark round building filled with glass containments holding everything from pit vipers to common garden snakes. Dudley dragged his parents to the biggest exhibit he could see when arriving. In it was a Brazilian Boa Constrictor. The snake was easily ten feet long and must have weighed more than Harry. Harry walked slowly behind the Dursleys to view the Constrictor. He made sure that Dudley had securely dragged his parents over to the cage of a black mamba before standing in front of the Constrictor's cage.

He empathized with the creature: to be stared at all day, people tapping on the glass, and nothing to see outside of his captivity... Unbeknownst to him, his Green Power- so close to the surface due to suppressing the pain of his cracked ribs- was in his hands when placed it gently over the glass and, in the softest of whispers, said to the snake, "I wish at least one of us was free."

The glass suddenly disappeared from the enclosure and his hand dipped in to cradle the head of the snake. He was lucky he wasn't bitten; the snake lifted its head toward the glass and hissed, "Freedom at last- thanks amigoooo" before sliding out of the enclosure and sliding toward the exit. Harry almost chuckled as it playfully nipped at the heels of his Aunt and Cousin before looking into the molten face of his Uncle.

Harry vaguely wondered if he would survive this trip.

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The trip to the car was not pleasant. The Dursleys had loudly demanded compensation for the fright that they'd been forced to endure while most of the zoo staff was focused on finding the Constrictor that had escaped. Harry expected that it was the fact that they were not from around here that the Dursleys were given free season passes to the zoo… the chance of them visiting again was nil and the staff of the zoo were thankful that they likely wouldn't have to deal with them again- regardless of the free passes they might have held. In fact, Vernon had promised just that when he left.

As the sun was heading below the horizon, Harry was roughly shoved into the back seat of the car and barely had time to put a seatbelt on before Uncle Vernon squealed back onto the road. Vernon didn't turn towards the hotel though. No. He turned his car towards the most crime ridden part of town, the part he knew had dark alleys and, hopefully, gang activities. He ignored his wife's questioning glances and growled at her anytime she attempted to speak. Dudley was looking between his Mum and Dad with a vacant look on his face. It was he that finally managed to ask what his Dad was planning.

Vernon didn't so much answer as he began mumbling under his breath about "teaching the freak a lesson" and "getting rid of the little bugger". This seemed to satisfy Aunt Petunia and Dudley, however, because they were silent for the duration of the ride.

Eventually, Uncle Vernon pulled over beside a broken street light in what appeared to be an abandoned part of town; there was a store across the street with a foreclosed sign and the buildings on either side of the car had heavy metal gates guarding the shops inside them. After barking that Aunt Petunia and Dudley were to stay in the car with the doors locked, Vernon roughly pulled Harry out of the car, dislocating his arm in the process as it was caught on the seatbelt. Harry actually gasped at the pain that this caused along his arm, back, and ribs.

{ WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT- READ ON YOUR OWN PEROGATIVE}

Harry was dragged into a nearby ally way and pushed into the front of the dumpster there. The sound of his head hitting the resounded like a small gong throughout the dark alley.

He was roughly jerked up from his hunched over position and kneed in the chest three times before being told to assume the position. He blanched- his Uncle must believe that he used his Green Power to let the snake free. However, he knew that there was no way to get out of this punishment; he couldn't take much more physical beating and remain alive- _what if one of my ribs stabs my lungs!?_ He quickly did as he was told, pushed his pants and trousers to his knees, spread his legs as much as this allowed, and bent down to grab his ankles. He could barely breath in this position, but inhaled sharply, painfully as he was roughly invaded from behind by his uncle's bulbous cock. His cheeks and chest were resting against the dumpster as his uncle drove into him repeatedly. The pain was unimaginable and he felt tears streaming down his cheeks and chest. Luckily, Uncle Vernon had very little self-control and emptied himself within minutes. As he pulled out blood and seamen followed him, trickling down Harry's legs.

Vernon heaved himself completely upright and grunted for the boy to clean himself up. While Harry could barely move, he shifted his pants and trousers over his beaten bottom while his Uncle tucked himself away.

{GRAPHIC CONTENT COMPLETE}

Harry was unprepared when his uncle grabbed him by the arms and hefted him into the dumpster. His head hit the corner of the dumpster going down and Harry barely remained conscious when Vernon growled out that he'd better not tell a soul who his family was. He promised to kill Harry if he ever saw him again. With these words ringing in his mind, Harry blacked out from the pain and his injuries.

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Sorry about the cliff hanger; I hope to post another chapter tomorrow!

Feel free to review regarding the current plot progression e.g. if there's any particular phrase or thing you'd like to be written into this story. I may not manage it, but I'll certainly see what could fit with my current plot outline. My personal challenge to myself will be any sentimental scenes between Gibbs and Harry- those are always my favorite when others write them!


	4. Chapter 3- The Dumpster

The usual disclaimers apply; I don't own Harry Potter or NCIS, nor do I benefit from the use of these characters beyond the satisfaction of their inclusion in my works.

Chapter 3- The Dumpster

Tony, Ziva, and McGee arrived at the scene in a hurry but somehow Ducky and Palmer had already beaten them to it. With McGee driving, though, they weren't particularly surprised. Even Palmer drove quicker than McGee.

They checked behind the dumpster and found Ducky and Palmer with the body.

"What do you got, Ducky" came Gibb's voice from behind them. Turning quickly, McGee got out the camera, Tony the measuring tape, and Ziva the sketchpad and they hurriedly set about surveying the crime scene and searching for evidence.

Ducky responded, "Our poor Petty Officer Third Class, Thomas McCathy, was stabbed rather brutally. From the looks of it he also sustained a head wound and I'll have to check for fractures to his neck and back when I get him back to autopsy. I remember a time when…. "

Gibbs tuned out Ducky before barking at Tony to quit trying to steal the camera and to get back to work.

Ziva turned to him thankfully before returning to take more pictures of the scene.

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Harry woke up to the sound of footsteps around the dumpster that he'd been left in. He was cold. His back, bum, and arse were hurting more badly then ever before. He took a quiet rattling breath as the wind made his resting spot chillier. He attempted to sit up to take a peak outside of the dumpster but his attempt to sit up was stifled by the shooting pain in his ribs and abdomen as well as the fact that his left arm had been wrenched out of its socket. His attempt at movement had spiked the pain that he felt and caused him to let out a hiss of breath.

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Ziva stiffened, dropped the sketch pad, and drew her weapon before heading towards the dumpster where she'd heard quiet movements and breathing just moments before. Her mossad training kicked in and her senses were hyper attuned to the sounds of her team drawing their weapons and converging on the dumpster. Ducky and Palmer quickly walked back to the cars after seeing the team taking action toward the dirty container.

Gibb's breathing evened out as he prepared himself for anyone that they might find in the dumpster. It was likely a drunk, homeless person, mentally unstable fellow, or, worst case scenario, the person who killed the Petty Officer. Gibbs signaled for McGee to lift Ziva over the dumpster while they kept it surrounded. Once Ziva was in place to be propped up for a visual on the suspect, Gibbs announced themselves.

"NCIS, show yourself!" he proclaimed as Ziva was boosted over the dumpster's edge.

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Harry heard the command but didn't believe that he could follow it. He'd never heard of NCIS. Where they like MI6 or the FBI? Was he going to be in trouble for being in their dumpster. He tried to follow the command. He tried to sit up, but the pain was too much for him to handle and he fell back the few inches he'd managed and bounced his head against the corner of the dumpster again. Tears leaked from his eyes before he saw a pretty woman pointing a gun at his head appear from the edge of the container. He struggled to stay silent and conscious in the face of this development, but only remained partially cognizant. He wished the pain would go away.

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Ziva gasp when she was what she was pointing her gun at and quickly lowered her weapon and holstered it. She could barely believe the sight before her; there was a child, he couldn't be more than five years old and he appeared to have been beaten within an inch of his life. His chest was barely rising and falling, his lips were slightly blue, and his arm was bent in a direction that it was certainly not supposed to be able to bend. Blood was covering his clothes and his trousers around his groin area.

Swallowing bile, she turned to Gibbs and said, "Get Ducky, it's a child."

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Ducky and Palmer had been standing waiting for the apprehension of suspect number one when they heard Gibbs bark out, "Ducky, we need your medical kit now!"

Ducky quickly made his way over to the van, pulled out his first aid kit, and rushed back to the scene. He was boosted into the dumpster and could barely withhold the anger he felt at the sight before him. The child was tiny and beaten mercilessly. "Palmer, call a buss!" Ducky called out.

"Got it covered Duck," Gibbs replied already dialing. Into the phone he spoke, "We need the medics at our location stat. We have a child who's badly injured. At least one arm dislocated and bleeding from multiple wounds."

"Add multiple broken or cracked ribs as well Gibbs."

"multiple cracked and broken ribs as well" added Gibbs.

"Bring me a board Palmer and get in here." Stated Ducky urgently.

Ziva sprang from the dumpster and boosted Palmer into it in her place.

Ducky and Palmer rolled the boy onto the board and strapped him in. They gently lifted the boy down to McGee and DiNozzo who set him on the ground and helped Ducky and Palmer from the trash bin.

Ducky approached the boy quickly only to startle him; the boy flinched back so violently that the board was almost turned on its side.

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Harry came back into consciousness to find himself restrained and on a painful feeling board. A medium sized man was approaching him quickly. Harry thought that it was surely the worst day of his life. They were going to torture him on this board because he was in their dumpster. He didn't think he could handle anymore pain.

He flinched back violently, but stilled instantly when he felt a hand on his head and he waited for it to lift and strike him like the others, but it simply petted his hair. A fit man with grey hair shifted into view talking softly to him. It said things that he'd never heard before. "Hush," said Gibbs low and soothing voice, "we're not going to harm you. You're going to be okay. We'll make sure your safe. You're going to be okay. Just lay still and let Ducky take a look at you. You're safe now and you're going to be okay." The soothing voice continued.

Harry wasn't quite sure what to make of he voice, but he'd been ordered to be quiet and still before and he could do that. Whatever this "Ducky" did, it couldn't be worse than what his uncle had done to him.

"Palmer," he heard a voice with a British lit speak out, "hand me the scissors, we need to get these clothes off him to see the damage to him."

"Now, my dear boy, just lay still and quiet while we have a look at you. My name is Dr. Mallard, but you can call me Ducky." In an aside me muttered to Gibbs, "Where are those EMT's!"

Ducky carefully cut the boy's trousers and shirt off of him before gasping at the damage done to the front half of the boy's body. His chest was littered with bruises of all different ages. Two of his ribs were clearly broken and he would bet his medical license that three more were cracked. Whip marks trailed along the underside of the boy's legs and arms and snaked along the sides. No wonder the boy's face was pinched in pain and he wasn't speaking. It was a miracle that the boy was as quiet as he was.

"Ducky," Gibbs asked, "is he going to be okay?"

The sound of sirens was now approaching their location and Ducky sent a dark gaze toward Gibbs while shrugging his shoulders. He wasn't going to voice his doubts anywhere near the boy given the child's obvious blood loss and still blue lips.

Gibbs growled, a sound that had the head under him flinching away, but he continued, "I'll be going with him to the hospital." Looking at the rest of his shell shocked team he ordered them to get back to work and analyze the scene. As he was leaving the scene with the boy he called back, "make sure to retrieve everything from the dumpster and investigate who could have done this to the boy." He still hadn't removed his hand from the boy's raven black hair.

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So the good news is that Harry has now been found and is in good hands… even if he doesn't know it yet!. Please feel free to review. Since I'm posting two today, I might not manage to post tomorrow, but there will be another chapter before the week is out!


	5. Chapter 4-The Hospital and Investigation

The usual disclaimers apply; I don't own Harry Potter or NCIS, nor do I benefit from the use of these characters beyond the satisfaction of their inclusion in my works.

Chapter 4- The Hospital and Investigation

As the ambulance zipped down the road, Gibbs hand remained tangled in the raven hair of the child they'd found. While he may have shown a stoic face toward his team, he was badly shaken by the sight of a child in such a destitute condition. When he'd looked into the dumpster, his thoughts had unwillingly turned to Kelly's broken form before he'd crushed the desire to reminisce in such a morbid fashion in favor of saving the child at hand. The boy had barely whimpered when IVs was inserted into his hand and both fluids and blood were placed on drips into his too pale body.

They arrived at the hospital without incident, though it was clear that the boy was slipping into and out of consciousness throughout the entirety of the drive. Gibbs had to admire the child's urge to keep on fighting past his obvious fatigue and injuries. He barely listened as the Emergency Department staff received the child's medical updates from the EMT's but instead focused on whispering quiet reassurances to the boy as he flinched from any physical contact inflicted by the attending physicians. He was quickly hooked up to a more permanent supply of oxygen as well as heart monitoring machine. It would not due to have the boy code on them due to distress and malnourishment.

Eventually the child fell unconscious again and the hospital staff took the opportunity to turn the boy on his side and check the wounds on his back. Gibbs paled when he saw the sight. The boy's back was covered with scars, old and new whip marks, belt marks, canning welts covered the boys back and thighs. There wasn't enough unmarked skin to sew the open wounds together again and blood wept from the boy's clearly torn anus. Gibbs had never felt the need to kill someone so much as he did the one who hurt this small child. The emergency department doctor prescribed intravenous pain medication which was sure to keep the child from consciousness while they worked on him.

One of the younger nurses took one look at the sight before her before lunging for a nearby trash can. She later called child services and photographed the wounds. Another paged the emergency surgeon and a proctologist before starting to clean the child's back. Had he been awake, Harry surely would have thought the hospital a place of torture while this occurred.

Eventually, the O.R. was prepped and the staff ready to take the child to surgery to repair his damaged rectum, address his broken and cracked ribs, and the still dislocated arm.

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As Gibbs watched the child be wheeled away, the anger that he had felt upon seeing the child in that condition came back in full force. He'd been told by that staff that the surgery would likely take upwards of four hours and that the child would likely be kept asleep for the rest of the evening and night.

Knowing that the child was in good hands, he stalked toward the front of the hospital, palmed his phone, and dialed Tony.

"Tell me you got something, Tony" demanded Gibbs.

"Yeah boss. As you know the Petty Officer was wearing his ID card on his person, but his wallet was missing. MaGoo found it in the dumpster opposite end from where the boy was found, cash was missing but credit cards were still there. Ziva took prints of the dumpster and has given them to Abby. I called the stores surrounding the alley to get ahold of their surveillance tapes."

"And you don't have them yet… Why, Tony?"

"On it, Boss. I'll take McGee and pay the owners a visit."

"Yeah you will" muttered Gibbs before hanging up the phone.

Gibbs quickly dialed Ziva's number

"David" answered Ziva

"Get to the hospital Ziva- you're on protection detail for the child."

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Ducky and Palmer were in the autopsy lab. The chest of the victim was already propped open and the good doctor questioned Palmer, " _Do you ever wonder why perfectly healthy individuals suddenly and occasionally keel over and die, Mr. Palmer?"_

Palmer squints his eyes as he answers, _"Yeah. Now that you mention it…"_

" _No. No. No. No. No. It's a trick question. They don't. There is always a reason"_ said Ducky, pointing his scalpel at Palmer. _"Now take our Petty Officer, for example._ Not only did he receive a blow to the head causing a subarachnoid hemorrhage, along with the three glancing knife slices to the abdomen, and two stab wounds, but his blood alcohol content was four times the legal limit. His liver is in ghastly condition and his digestive track looks like it's been put through the meat grinder."

"So what killed him, Duck?" came Gibb's voice from behind them.

"Well as I was saying to my assistant here, there are at least three potential contributors toward this poor fellows demise…" Ducky trailed off.

"Well, what were they!" asked Gibbs in a slightly exasperated tone.

Palmer chose this moment to pipe up, "Er, Em, he was greatly weakened by his consumption of alcohol. He sustained a significant blow to the head as well as the abdominal stab wounds, but strangely enough, there are signs of potential poisoning in his system as well. I'm taking the tox screen to Abby now." He headed for the door.

"Very good Mr. Palmer" praised Ducky. Turning to Gibbs he stated, "We were just getting around to noting the severe decline of the digestive track- a symptom that would not be attributed to even a rampant abuse of alcohol. Additionally, there is leukonychia striata, here on his fingernails. Now those lines can be a sign of heavy metal poisoning but we'll know more when we hear from Abby."

Gibbs headed toward the door as he barked, "keep me informed."

"Jethro!" called Ducky. Gibbs turned slowly.

"How is our young patient doing?" quarried Ducky.

"He'll survive. He's a fighter. He's in surgery now. Should take about three more hours" Gibbs informed.

"What was wrong with the child that the surgery will take so long? Fixing the dislocated arm would likely take minutes, and those ribs, not more than an hour, maybe two."

"He was raped, Duck" said Gibbs in a low voice, before turning and heading for the elevator.

"Oh dear" sighed Ducky as he took in the sight of Gibb's retreating back.

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After retrieving a Caf-Pow, Gibbs made his way down to Abby's lab.

"What you got Abbs" he asked as he entered the room.

"What haven't I got?" Abby grumbled.

Gibbs gave her The Look.

"Oh, okay then" she said while reaching for the Caf-Pow. "There are no hits on the prints found on the scene around the body. The knife wasn't in the dumpster with the wallet, so no murder weapon. I'm running the prints off the dumpster; I've matched prints to the two trash men and the workers that I've traced back to the businesses on either side of the dumpster. I have a small set of prints that we'll need to compare to the child. Ziva found a large set of prints about a foot and a half over the child's. I'm running those through AFIS, but haven't come up with a match state-side but I'll run them through Interpol's system. If I need to I'll call in a favor from British and Auzie friends of mine and we'll run the prints through their systems." She paused. "I heard how you found the boy Gibbs. We're gonna get this bastard." Taking a deep breath, and a sip of her Caf-Pow she went to continue only to be interrupted by the beep form Major-Maspec. Quickly looking at the results she explained, "The Petty Officer has been poisoned for the past four months, the arsenic was likely introduced through oral ingestion, mixing it with food or drink."

"Got it, Abbs" responded Gibbs before he turned on his heal and returned to the bullpen.

As he walked up, Tony and McGee were arriving through the elevator bantering between themselves while Tony carried a shoebox worth of video tapes. They entered their office area and Tony deposited the set of tapes onto Tim's desk.

"DiNozzo! What family does Petty Officer McCathy have?" barked Gibbs.

Tony reached for the screen's clicker. "His parents are deceased, car accident ten years ago, Boss. Has a wife, 47 year old Shelia McCathy- boy is she a looker for her age- and 8 year old boys Rodney and Theodore. His brother and brother's family live in Maine and from what I can see in their travel records and phone calls, they've not communicated in five years. How's the boy, Boss?" Tony asked.

"Boy's surviving. He should be out of surgery soon. Swing by the hospital and take Ziva with you to bring in the wife. The man was being poisoned. "

"Yes, Boss."

"McGee, don't leave here until you've found out what's on those tapes."

"Boss, that might take all night…" started McGee.

Gibbs interrupted, "I didn't ask how long it would take McGee. The bastard raped that boy and probably killed a marine. I want his ass yesterday."

Both Tony and Gibbs headed to the hospital. Tony to retrieve Ziva and Gibbs to take over protection detail for the boy- he should be out of surgery by now.

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The italics is from Season 4 episode 15, the episode that I've decided to take some inspiration from for this case. I am not going to bring Dr. Jeanne Benoit into this fic. though, as Tony's undercover drama concerning her still irks me. However, I'll try to post again before Monday!


	6. Chapter 5- The Hospital Continued

The usual disclaimers apply; I don't own Harry Potter or NCIS, nor do I benefit from the use of these characters beyond the satisfaction of their inclusion in my works.

Chapter 5- The Hospital Continued…

Harry came to awareness around three in the morning. While his back was throbbing somewhat painfully due to laying on it, and his ribs ached, he was surprised to realize that his left arm was back where it belonged, his breathing was easier, and his anus was numb. Faking sleep, he looked through his lashes to figure out where he had been taken to. He remembered the pretty lady pointing her gun at him, a man called Ducky stripping him of his clothes, and the silver haired man, the one who had spoken kindly to him on the way to the… well, he assumed it was a hospital. The whole of the building was white, from floor to ceiling and smelled like his Aunt's bleach cleaning solution and, despite his current pain, he was feeling much better than he was just twelve hours previously. He could see people in scrubs, an outfit that his Aunt always scoffed about when someone wearing it came on the telly, scurrying about with clipboards just outside his door.

Looking at the door, Harry wondered if he could use some of his Green Power to numb the rest of the pain when a man he'd not noticed sitting between his bed and the window pushed himself up and moved toward him. He flinched back and whimpered, but the man proceeded to gently place a hand on his head and, in a rumbling voice, asked, "You awake, little man?"

Harry looked down at his hands before risking a glance up at the man. It was the same grey haired man who had spoken so kindly to him the day before…the one who promised that he would be safe as long as he hushed and laid still. He nodded his head in reply. He didn't want to anger the potentially kind man by talking. He wasn't allowed to talk at the Dursleys, maybe he wasn't allowed to talk here. Would he be left alone long enough to practice his whispers? Maybe he'd practice when the man fell asleep again.

The calming voice of the man cut into his racing thoughts, "Are you in any pain child?'

Harry thought that this was an odd question as he was almost always in some degree of pain and nobody had ever cared before. He chanced another look up to the man's face to gauge his sincerity… maybe he wasn't allowed to talk but he could still try to answer the question truthfully. He nodded his head once quickly before looking back at his hands and shrugging. He didn't understand why his pain would matter to this man.

Gibbs let out a breath when he took in the child's non-verbal answer. He was glad that the child apparently trusted him enough to say he was in pain, but for a child of five to dismiss it so quickly was almost baffling. He carded his hand through the child's hair. The hair went slightly longer than his ears and the nape of his neck and was soft as silk. He took another breath before explaining to the boy, "I'm going to call a doctor to see what they can do about the pain that you're in." He got up and walked over to the nearest nurses station and told them that their young patient was awake and in pain.

A nurse walked back with Gibbs to the room in which Harry was in and smiled at her young charge. "Hey there, buddy," she said. "I have a cream that we can put on your back to take most of the pain away. Would you turn over for me?"

Harry didn't quite know what to think about this development but decided that there were now two adults bigger than him in the room and that it would be best to comply. He turned over, exposing his back to her ministrations but would flinch badly every time her hand resettled on his back. He flinched almost violently when he felt a hand reach up to card through his hair but settled rather quickly when the grey haired man started whispering words of safety into his ear again. Harry may not understand why they were being nice to him, but he figured that he should soak as much of the comfort up as he could while it was being offered.

Eventually the boy's back and bum were covered with the healing and numbing ointment and he was allowed to resettle onto his bed. His breathing appeared to come easier now that he was in less pain and he was propped semi-upright in the bed. The nurse took her leave after asking them to call again if they needed her. Both Harry and Gibbs nodded; Harry in thanks and Gibbs in understanding.

Gibbs turned to the boy wondering what it would take to get him to speak. He hadn't yet heard a whisper pass the boy's lips. Perhaps he was mute? Most little boys would have asked where they were, where their guardians were, or what was going to happen to them but this boy remained silent. He decided to give sign language a try. He signed, "Hi, my name is Jethro. What is yours?" to the boy while narrating.

Harry looked at the man in a confused manner. He could hear what the man said, but the signs were only vaguely familiar to him and the man only used one hand when signing his name. Since pre-school, his teachers had allowed him to sign words instead of speaking when he became overstimulated around them, but the signs weren't right. Using both hands, he decided to try "speaking" back and signed, "Hi, my name is Harry" before quickly looking away from the man.

Gibbs was shocked. The boy knew sign language, but it was the British alphabet that he was using. He was relieved that the boy was trying to communicate with him, even if there was a slight language barrier between the two of them. Gibbs only knew the very basics of British sign language. He signed, "Good to meet you Harry. Do you need anything?"

Harry didn't quite know how to respond. He knew he could communicate with Jethro now, but if the man wanted him to sign, did the man want him to speak? He didn't know. Maybe he should sleep some more before he tried to have a proper conversation. The lack of pain _was_ making him tired. He signed back, "Tired" before looking back at his lap.

 _Well,_ Gibbs thought, _at least that is something I can help him with._ He reached out to the boy slowly and said to him, "I'm going to help you lay down again. I don't want your back to be scuffed up shuffling down the bed." He gently picked up the boy and repositioned him on the bed. Reaching out, he scooted his chair closer to the bed and carded his hand through the boy's hair again. This seemed to relax to child despite his initial hesitance at the contact.

The child closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

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Harry woke to the feeling of Jethro's hand still in his hair and saw that he appeared to be asleep leaning against his bed. Jethro's forehead was rested against his left arm while his right was gently resting on Harry's head. He saw no nurses passing by his door and heard no footsteps on the floor. He figured that now was the best time he was going to get to practicing his whispering. He spoke quietly to himself, "My name is Hadrian- Harry. Freak. Boy. No. No more talking. Must not talk. Talking not allowed." Harry felt his courage give out when he felt Gibbs lift his head from his arm and look at him with a concerned expression on his face.

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It was nearing six in the morning and Gibbs had only just decided to rest his head on his arm when he felt the head under his hand move slightly. He decided to stay still and see what the boy would do or, more importantly, if the boy would speak. He was appalled when he heard the child call himself a Freak and pained when he realized that, wherever the boy had been kept, he was not allowed to speak. No wonder the child hadn't spoken a word. The boy's voice was rough, like it had rarely been use and the child seemed scared of using his voice if his sentences were anything to go by. He decided to lift his head to see what would happen; the child looked terrified at having been caught exercising his voice.

"There, there" Gibbs said to the boy. "No need to be afraid." He hesitated only a second before asking, "No talking is a rule, isn't it? You're not talking because you think you're not allowed to talk?"

Harry jerkily nodded his head, not quite knowing what to think of the man's statement.

"You know. I think that's a rather silly rule. We should get rid of it. What do you think?"

Harry hesitated before responding. Could the man change the rules just like that? He was older than Uncle Vernon. Maybe it was okay if someone older than Vernon changed the rules? He solemnly nodded his head; it would be nice to be able to speak occasionally.

"That's my little man" murmured Gibbs. "Would you be up for answering some of my questions for me?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders and looked down, Vernon's demand not to be incriminated still ringing in his ears.

"Okay, let's start with a simple question" said Gibbs, "How old are you Hadrian?"

Harry let out a small sound but couldn't make himself speak. He'd never been asked a question outside of school that wasn't redundant. So, he compromised. He'd answer without speaking for now and wait to see if the man really was allowed to change the rules. Slowly, he looked at his fingers and held up seven for Jethro to count.

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Gibbs let out a breath he was holding when the child finally decided to answer his question. If it wasn't clear before, it was blatantly apparent that the child was severely mal-nourished; even the doctors has estimated his age to be about five.

It would clearly take a while to gain the boys trust, but he now had some vital information for getting to know who the boy belonged with. He knew that the boy was likely British- his voice, hoarse as it was, had a British lit to it and the boy signed in British Sign Language rather than American Sign Language. According to the child, he was also seven years old….which likely put his parents between their late twenties and early forties.

"Do you know where your parents are little man?" asked Gibbs.

"Dead" Harry signed.

Gibbs sighed. This was not going to be an easy task.

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Hey all! Thanks for reading so far! Again, I don't know if I'll get another chapter out before Monday, but I'll certainly have one by then! Feel free to review and leave suggestions for what direction you want this fic to go; only a few of my plot points are set in stone and, even if the opportunity presents itself, Severus Snape (who will likely be a bit out of character; e.g. more mature) is the only character I'm unwilling to bash in the HPverse. Dursleys, Dumbledore, and the Band of Marry Chickens are all fair game though, if you request it!


	7. Chapter 6- Meeting Abby

The usual disclaimers apply; I don't own Harry Potter or NCIS, nor do I benefit from the use of these characters beyond the satisfaction of their inclusion in my works.

Chapter 6- Meeting Abby

Around nine o'clock in the morning, Abby bounced into Hadrian's hospital room carrying a white bear in a biker jacket with a spiked collar.

"Hi Abbs, you got here quick."

"Well it's not every day that I get to play interpreter on a case!" said Abby lightly, hugging the bear to herself. Looking at Hadrian she said and signed, "My name is Abby! I brought Commander Care-Bear with me to talk to you! He's a great friend of mine and I'd like you to take care of him for me."

Harry was rather surprised by the attire of the lady who'd signed to him in perfect British sign language. She wore a black pleated skirt, a black rock n role t-shirt with a grey vest over the top of it. She wore grey fishnet stockings tucked into black pump boots. Her black hair was in two pigtails and she had black fabric braces over her forearms. A choker collar completed the look. Harry immediately felt drawn to the lady; he was pretty sure that his Aunt and Uncle would consider her a Freak too.

He summoned up the bravery to sign to her.

"I'm Harry Potter… Are you a Freak too?"

Abby and Gibbs locked eyes before Gibbs raised one shoulder to her unasked question and resumed looking at the child.

" I'm a freak, but not a bad freak" signed/said Abby "I think what I wear looks cool, so I wear it because it makes me happy. So does Commander Care-Bear."

"But…" Harry hesitated before deciding to finish signing his question- if she was a freak she should be safe to ask… "is the collar for punishment too? What bad thing did you do?"

Abby bulked. Gibbs rose from his seat and led her to take his chair beside the bed. Harry started to pull into himself. However, seeing the effect his question had on her, he signed, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad thoughts."

Abby reached for her collar and took it off before removing the collar from Commander Care-Bear and tucking them away into her overly-large purse. She settled Care-Bear closer to Harry. Harry looked at her in wonder; she had removed the collar herself and didn't get into trouble!

Abby signed, "I wear the collar because I like how it looks, not because I am forced to, Harry. I can take it off whenever I feel like it." She took a deep breath and cast a steadying look at Gibbs calming visage. "I didn't do anything bad to wear the collar." Casting a look at Gibbs she cocked her head to the side in an unasked question. He nodded- it would be best if she asked.

"Harry, what did you do that you were forced to wear a collar?"

Harry trembled in memory and Gibbs placed a soothing hand onto his head while Abby held one of his hands.

Harry removed his hand from Abby's grip to answer her, "I healed from a punishment too fast" Harry signed.

Abby nodded in understanding, "They didn't like that?'

"No"

There was silence for a time before Harry hesitantly signed, "Abby… can I ask you a question?"

"Sure little-man"

Harry looked over at Gibbs with a feeling of trepidation broadcast on his face.

Gibbs took a minute to figure out the problem before giving the child a half smile and suggesting, "How about I turn around while you ask Abby your question? It's private, right?"

Harry nodded and Gibbs turned toward the door.

Harry turned toward Abby and quickly signed, "Can Jethro really change the rules?"

"What do you mean, Harry?"

Harry shrugged but elaborated, "At my Aunt and Uncle's, the rule is no talking. Ever. Jethro says that that is a silly rule and that he has changed it, that he would like me to talk. Is this a trick?"

"Of course it's not a trick, Harry! Jethro doesn't lie. He would love to hear your voice. I would too. I think that your Aunt and Uncle taught you the wrong rules." She paused for a second in her signing before asking, "Would you like to talk?"

"YES!" Harry signed before looking sheepish.

Abby grinned.

"It's okay to be happy, Harry" she responded.

Gibbs turned around and stated, "She's right about that, you know."

Harry nodded. He didn't quite understand what it meant to be happy, but he figured it was a bit like the warm, fuzzy feeling he'd felt in his stomach when Abby confirmed that he could trust Gibb's rules.

Harry wondered if it would make them happy if he used his voice.

Very quietly, in a barely there whisper, he asked, "What are the good rules?"

"Well," Abby said, "you already followed rule 3, 'Don't believe what you're told, double check' when you checked with me about Gibb's rules, so you got that one down"

"You're learning rule number 5- You don't waste good"

"Yeah, Harry. You're letting us help you and that's a good thing; it helps you heal better and makes us feel good."

"You don't seem to take anything for granted"

"That's number 8!" interjected Abby.

"I think you're ready to learn rule number 15 and 28"

"What are those?" asked Harry in a quiet voice.

"Always work as a team and if you need help ask. I don't expect you to always get it right, but I expect you to try" stated Gibbs.

"But… who is my team?"

"We are!" bubbled Abby "Mr. Care-Bear, Jethro, Me, Tony, Ziva, McGee, and Ducky. I don't think you've met the others, but they're all really nice once you get to know them."

Harry didn't correct her assumption that he'd forgotten his meeting with Ducky but he did wonder why Ducky had cut up his clothes.

Eventually Abby began a story about Commander Care-Bear saving a kitten in distress and the two relaxed into a world of their own making. Hadrian even giggled occasionally, much to Gibb's pride as he watched them.

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At around 11:30 a nurse and a social worker presented themselves at the door to Hadrian's room and Gibbs got up to deal with them. The nurse informed them both that Hadrian would be released after a final application of his numbing medication.

"I'll take him with me when I leave, then" stated Jennifer Livingston, the social worker.

"No you won't."

"You have no authority to take an abused child to be interrogated" Jennifer rebuked.

"No we don't. However, the child is in our protective custody until we have arrested his abusers. Last time we handed over a child to Social Services before closing a case, I had to rescue him from a shooting and attempted kidnapping. That won't happen again."

Jennifer persisted, "I need verification that you're acceptable guardians for the child for the time being then."

Gibbs reached into his back pocket and revealed the confirmation paper-work that Ms. Livingston needed to confirm temporary guardianship to himself.

Abby came up behind Gibbs and presented her paperwork as well, stating that she would be watching over the child while Gibbs worked. As an aside to Gibbs she stated, "I got confirmed as a foster parent after the case with Zachary."

Gibbs nodded.

Jennifer sighed before confirming that everything seemed to be in order and that they would receive temporary custody of the child, after all, they were clearly intent on protecting the lad.

Harry was quietly pleased that he would get to remain with the two for the time being. They had yet to actually hurt him.

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Hey All! Another chapter completed; I hope you enjoyed the meeting between Harry and Abby. The next chapter we'll probably get back to the investigation! I'll try to have it up tomorrow, but- _again_ \- Monday's the goal! Please review!


	8. Chapter 7- Searching for the Dursleys

The usual disclaimers apply; I don't own Harry Potter or NCIS, nor do I benefit from the use of these characters beyond the satisfaction of their inclusion in my works.

Chapter 7- Searching for the Dursleys

Returning to the office, Gibbs carried Harry up to the bullpen while Harry carried a McDonald's happy meal. On the way up the boy murmured "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! Is it really all for me?"

Gibbs responded with a nod followed by "Yes. Harry."

Harry would then ask in a smaller voice, "But aren't you hungry? You haven't eaten today."

"Observant, aren't you?" questioned Gibbs settling him into his chair. "How about you eat your happy meal and I'll go get a protein bar from the vending machine?"

Harry nodded solemnly and set about opening his meal.

"McGee", barked Gibbs, causing a slight shudder to go through Harry- Gibbs lowered his voice as he continued, "Keep an eye on the child."

"On it boss!"

Gibbs went toward the nearest vending machine to appease the boy. Honestly, he didn't want food. He wanted the child's abuser and the Marine's killer brought to justice… but he didn't want Harry to worry about him since worry wouldn't help the child heal.

Gibbs walked back from the vending machine. The boy was slowly picking through his French fries and had left one chicken nugget to the side of his plate.

While the child was distracted by Gibbs reappearance behind the barrier, Tony stalked up to the food, swiped the chicken nugget, and attempted to pop it into his mouth when it was intercepted by Ziva's lightning quick hand. Ziva returned the chicken nugget back to its place on the desk before placing her hands on the pressure points of Tony's neck and leading him back to his desk. She furiously whispered to him, "One does _not_ take food from the mouths of children:"

Tony snarked back, "mouths of babes, Ziva"

Ziva responded by forcing Tony, painfully and via pressures points, to sit into his chair before responding. "It does not matter in this case, Tony." They both looked over at the child.

Luckily, he was giggling at someone behind them.

Unfortunately for them, that person was Gibbs.

While Ziva stalked back to her desk. Tony was motioned toward Gibbs and then slapped on the back of the head. In a low voice, Gibbs demanded, "Don't mess with the kid, DiNozzo."

"Of course, Boss. Won't happen again, Boss." Gibbs ignored Tony and continued to his desk.

"What toy did you get there, Little Man?" asked Gibbs

"A soldier" signed Harry before holding up the figurine.

"A marine" said Gibbs. "They're good protectors"

"That they are" confirmed Ducky coming into the bullpen with Abby.

Harry waved to Abby and edged a little ways away from Ducky. Ducky stopped where he was when he saw this and observed the boy sign quickly to Abby.

"Will he cut my clothes up again? Jethro got them for me and they actually fit! I don't want to lose them."

"My dear boy," Ducky said/signed in rather hesitant British Sign Language, "I have no intention of losing you another outfit."

"Why'd you cut up the last one then" asked Harry, feeling somewhat bold

"I needed to see your wounds and didn't want to hurt you more by removing the clothes the traditional way, child. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded his head before looking at Gibbs who had cleared his throat.

"Why don't you go with Abby and Ducky and have a quick checkup, Hadrian? I'll be here if you need me."

Harry hesitated, but he knew an order when he heard one, so he nodded, sliding off the chair and reaching half way to Abby's hand before realizing what he was doing. However, before he could return his hand to the side, Abby had grabbed it with a smile and started to lead him down to Ducky's domain. To relax the child further, Ducky began to speak, "Now, Abby-Hadrian, did I ever tell you about the child I nursed back to health in Sudan. He was a particularly sweet boy, had teeth like the whitest of ivory and was a missionary couple's child. They'd gotten themselves into a spot of trouble with the local warlord…."

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"What do we got?" barked Gibbs as soon as the elevator door closed behind Ducky, Abby, and Hadrian. He deposited the remaining third of the protein bar into the garbage tin in favor of the coffee in his hand and stared expectantly at his team.

They each leapt up from their desks and converged on the plasma screen.

"I've gone through all the footage from the surrounding stores and got this." A fuzzy video of a particularly fat man dragging a child out of a black SUV around 2130 at night showed them disappearing in the direction of the alley. A light haired, whale of a child could be seen bouncing in the back of the car while a skinny, horse necked lady was sitting primly in the front.

"I've cleaned this up as much as I can from this computer and have sent it down to Abby for more processing. However, the interesting part is that nine minutes later, we see Petty Office McCathy running toward the alley while removing a knife from his belt. It looks like he's a bit tipsy though."

Tony continued where McGee left off, "Five minutes after that, the large man leaves the alley with the knife and what appears to be a pipe before taking off in the SUV with the woman and child. The street lights went down due to a power outage in that area shortly after the man left the alley, so we haven't been able to follow the car to its current location.

Gibbs was beginning to look annoyed.

McGee butted back into the conversation, "However, I've managed to trace the car back to a zoo that they visited earlier yesterday and their surveillance cameras clearly show the man striking the boy. The pictures are better on these cameras too."

The other's looked at McGee for his choice of words. He back peddled. "Not that Hadrian being abused is good, but here..." He fell silent as he pulled up incredibly clear pictures of Vernon and Petunia Dursley.

"DiNozzo, put out a BOLO for these people, they're traveling with an overweight blond child. He doesn't look to be in danger but these bastards don't deserve to be around children. David, check arriving plane tickets for a family of four arriving from Britain in the last week, see if any of them match our descriptions. McGee, go help Abby with those pictures. We'll need them for evidence."

The team scrambled.

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Harry complied silently to the physical examination that Ducky gave to him before being taken up to Abby's lab. He was reintroduced to Commander Care-Bear and was soon asleep on the futon couch under one of Abby's desks. Abby even switched her music to a lighter disco tune so as not to overly disturb the boy's rest.

As she was pulling up the video that McGee had sent to her, McGee walked in and offered to help in whatever way she needed.

"I don't need an assistant, McGee" she scolded. "I need more evidence; did you search for the pipe and knife in all trashcans within a half mile radius?"

"Er, no. We were focused on the dumpster we found the boy in."

"The boy has a name, Tim."

"Yes, Harry"

Said boy turned over in his sleep and whimpered.

"Well then, what I need is for you to go back out there and find me my evidence, McGee."

McGee left to hunt down DiNozzo. They had a square mile of ground to cover looking through trash.

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It was nearing 2030 when Ziva managed to identify the names of their suspects to incoming British travelers. _Gotcha, you bastard_ she thought before stalking over to Gibbs' desk and waiting for him to look up.

"The name of the suspect is Vernon Dursley" she bit out. "He and his family- wife Petunia Dursley, son Dudley Dursley, and nephew, Harry Potter- entered the country two days ago via Ronald Regan Washington National Airport. According to my contacts over-seas, he is here for a building seminar and business meeting for Grunnings Drill Company. They are currently staying at Hyatt Hotel on South Corner Boulevard."

Ziva had barely finished when DiNozzo and McGee came out of the elevator. McGee looked warn and has dirt covering his jacket and shirt while DiNozzo triumphantly waved a bagged pipe in the air. McGee set a bagged military knife on his desk before exchanging his coat and outer shirt for a NCIS jumper. He grabbed the pipe from Tony before heading toward the elevator to deliver the evidence to Abby for processing. However, before he left, Gibbs called out, "Bring the boy back up with you."

"Will do, Boss" he responded before heading toward Abby's lab.

"DiNozzo. We have an ID on our perp."

"A Vernon and Petunia Dursley" chimed in Zive, putting their faces on the screen.

"He's at the Hyatt Hotel off South Corner Boulevard. Take Ziva. Go pick him and the wife up. Make sure their kid gets to child services." He continued, "Ziva, don't take it easy on this guy. DiNozzo, make sure he's locked up and uncomfortable tonight. Got me?"

"Yes, Boss!"

They headed toward the elevator.

"Uncomfortable?" asked Ziva

"Well," explained Tony, "between your lasting pressure point thingy and mentioning loudly that he's a child molester while booking him, Dursley is in for one heck of an uncomfortable night."

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"Abbs!" shouted McGee over the loud music. He could see Hadrian sitting in Abby's inner office with headphones on and a coloring book of science pictures in his hands.

Abby twirled around and took the evidence from McGee's outstretched hands, "I knew you wouldn't let me down!" she said in a satisfied voice while she began to unpack and process the pipe.

"We found them two blocks down the road. They'd been tossed under a dumpster and it's likely that the car that dumped them speed off soon afterwards." He produced a camera. "I'll see if these tire prints are a match to our SUV when I get back from escorting Harry."

"Where are you taking him?!"

"To Gibbs"

"Oh." Turning down the music, Abby opened the door between her inner office and lab before calling out to the child. "Little man! I think it's time for you to head home with Gibbs for the night. Timmy will be taking you to him."

"I know the way" signed Harry to Abby.

"I'm sure you do. How about if you show Tim how good your memory is then?"

"Can I show that I'm smart?" Harry signed to Abby.

"Sure, Harry" she signed back, her heart breaking at his insecurity. "We like it when you prove you're a smart boy, it just makes us love you more!"

"Really?" Harry wanted additional confirmation.

"Really, really" signed Abby.

He nodded, thanked Abby, and lead Tim to the elevator.

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Well folks, the case is coming together and the Dursleys are well on their way to being caught. Vernon might even run into some justice before being confronted by Gibbs! I'll work on posting again soon! Please Review! Your encouragement gives me inspiration.


	9. Chapter 8- Unexpected Visitor

The usual disclaimers apply; I don't own Harry Potter or NCIS, nor do I benefit from the use of these characters beyond the satisfaction of their inclusion in my works.

Chapter 8- Unexpected Visitor

Gibbs walked into his home with the child in his arms only to find a man sitting rim-rod straight on his couch. He was a tall, slim man, shallow skin, a Romanesque hooked nose, and dark eyes that that seemed to peer through you. His haircut left much to be desired, it was just long enough to pull into a small pony tail, which the man currently sported. He wore black trousers and a long-sleeve, black, buttoned up shirt but a cloak was laid across the arm of the couch. The figure's eyes fixed hungrily on the boy for brief second, but the man did not move otherwise.

Gibbs was immediately on guard, though his actions didn't show it when he looked at the man, said, "Be right back" and went to deposit the child into the spare bedroom upstairs. While he didn't know the purpose of the strange man, Gibbs figured that if he was going to attack, he would have when he first arrived with the boy.

Returning to the living room, Gibbs raised an eyebrow to the intruder before grabbing a beer for himself.

The man raised both eyebrows minutely at his nonchalance but palmed his wand and sent locking and silencing charms around the room. Gibbs thought for sure that the man was nuts when he observed him waving a stick around and muttering in Latin.

The man then focused his eyes onto Gibbs and got to the point, "I'm here about the boy."

"You're not going to harm him" chimed in Gibbs, wondering what in the world the strange man could know about the child and why, if he cared, hadn't he stopped the abuse. His hand slipped casually toward his gun.

Severus saw the move toward the gun but didn't say anything about it- he had invaded the man's house, after all, and some caution was to be expected. He said, "This may be a remarkable and rather unbelievable explanation for you, but I fully intent to prove myself before the night is out, Mr. Gibbs. But first I shall tell you what I know about the boy; his parents were murdered on all hallows eve when Hadrian James Potter was just one years old. Their actions brought about a reprieve from a very powerful crime boss. Regardless, his birthday is the 31st of July and he is currently about to turn eight years old. He was sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle, a Petunia and Vernon Dursley." He paused for a second, looking Gibbs in the eye before saying, "You know some of this already."

Gibbs nodded.

"What you don't know is that the child originally came from a community that was truly gifted. They could perform feats which the regular population cannot hope to achieve. This gift, in a word, is Magic."

Gibbs almost snorted. Severus conjured a lion, shrunk it to the size of a stuffed toy, and sent it over to bite Gibbs on the finger. Gibbs eyes widened.

"I assure you that magic is real and that the boy has it. His Aunt and Uncle hated this fact and tried to beat it out of the boy. This just seemed to wake the boy's magic further; from what I could tell when you came in, he has a rather comprehensive numbing charm over the whole of his back and around his ribs. There's a reason the boy isn't currently in any pain."

"Could the boy use magic to heal his wounds quickly?"

"It's a possibility. The child has been in a lot of pain throughout his young life. It would make sense that his magic became particularly attuned to healing himself."

"Assuming I believe you. Why the hell should I trust you? I don't know your name, and you said yourself that the boy was abused. Why didn't _you_ save him!"

Here, Severus looked down at his hands, pulled out and unshrunk a pensieve from his pocket, and lifted his wand to his temple. Thinking hard, he took out three memories from his head and placed them into the pensieve. He looked up at Gibbs; the man was looking at him intently so he continued, "My name is Severus Snape. I am the Potions professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during the normal term and teach Chemistry classes at Brown University during the summer. Like Hadrian, I am also a wizard. As you will see, I have been forbidden from going near the boy on the cost of both my magic and my life by a manipulative old fool. Let me tell you this, the vows that you will see are magically binding and the life debt that you'll hear of is literally a _life_ debt- not to follow through with the demand of a life debt would cost one their life."

Gibbs nodded his understanding and wondered when the man would get onto the real explanations… like why he hadn't rescued the boy himself and how the hell he'd taken memories from his own mind.

Severus reached over the pensieve and flicked his wand up. This caused his last memory of Lily to play with sound like a hologram.

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Broken factory equipment littered the room in which the figures were in and graffiti painted the walls and floor of the building.

"I'm soo glad you've finally come to back to us Sev! It's a relief to have you back" gushed a beautiful red-headed lady.

"It only took veritaserum to prove I've been under the imperius curse for the past three years, Lily" said Severus somewhat bitterly clutching his left forearm as the ropes that had been holding him faded into nothing from a wave of Lily's wand.

"I _am_ sorry I didn't see it Sev" cajoled Lily. She grabbed his hand and apparated him from the abandoned building they'd met at to her house.

"Lills, warn me next time" begged Severus in an exasperated manner.

Lily only shrugged and sent him an unrepentant smile before leading him to the nursery. "Sev, I'd like you to meet Hadrian-Harry. Your godson if you'll agree. He's just three months old yesterday."

"He looks very much like you Lily"

"I know! Though he did manage to get James' black hair"

Severus winced. If things had turned out differently, Harry could have been his son. He growled slightly thinking of Lucius' betrayal.

He shook off his ire; this was about Lily.

"What day was he born?"

"The 31st of July" said Lily proudly

Severus paled, "Lily, while I was under the imperius curse, I did things I'm not proud of. One of them was to deliver a prophesy to the Dark Lord." Severus continued in a rush, "The prophesy placed a target on the back of any family with a boy born as the seventh month dies; the dark lord will be after you and your family. You must hide."

Lilly looked up in concern and squeezed his hand. "Thank you for telling me Sev… You should go to Dumbledore. I'm sure that he could clear you of all charges- you could hide with us."

Hope blossomed in Severus' chest at the thought of being free of the dark mark.

The next memory surfaced after this

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Severus _stood on a hilltop, forlorn and cold in the darkness, the wind whistling through the branches of a few leafless trees. The adult Snape was panting, turning on the spot, his wand gripped tightly in his hand, waiting for something or for someone… Then a blinding jagged jet of white light flew through the air… Snape had dropped to his knees and his wand had flown out of his hand._

" _Don't kill me!"_

" _That was not my intention."_

 _Any sound of Dumbledore apparating had been drowned by the sound of the wind in the branches. He stood before Snape with his robes whipping around him, and his face was illuminated from below in the light cast by his wand._

" _Well, Severus? What message does Lord Voldemort have for me?"_

" _No- no message- I'm here on my own account!"_

 _Snape was wringing his hands: He looked a little mad, with his straggling black hair flying around him._

" _I- I come with a warning- no, a request- please-"_

 _Dumbledore flicked his wand. Though leaves and branches still flew through the night air around them, silence fell on the spot where he and Snape faced each other._

" _What request could a Death Eater make of me?"_

" _The – the prophecy… the prediction… Trelawney…"_

" _Ah, yes," Said Dumbledore. "How much did you relay to Lord Voldemort?"_

" _Everything- everything I heard!" said Snape. "That is why it is for that reason- he thinks it means Lily Evan!"_

" _The prophecy did not refer to a woman," said Dumbledore. "It spoke of a boy born at the end of July-"_

" _You know what I mean! He thinks it means her son, he is going to hunt her down- kill them all-"_

" _If she means so much to you," said Dumbledore, "surely Lord Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for mercy for the mother, in exchange for the son?"_

" _I have- I have asked him-"_

" _You disgust me," said Dumbledore_ not letting Severus finish his statement _"you do not care, then about the deaths of her husband and child? They can die, as long as you have what you want?_

"That's not why, I was-"

"Enough" bellowed Dumbledore. "If I keep them safe, _what will you give me in return, Severus?"_

" _In return?" Snape gaped, "Anything"_

"Give me a vow, Severus. State that you will forego the Dark path wherever possible and turn spy for the Light. This is what I want in exchange for your freedom and Lily's protection."

Severus swore the vow.

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" _I thought… you were going… to keep_ them _… safe…"_

" _She and James put their faith in the wrong person," said Dumbledore. "Rather like you, Severus. Weren't you hoping that Lord Voldemort would spare her?"_

 _Snapes breathing was shallow._

" _Her boy survives," said Dumbledore._

"Then let me have him and let me raise him Dumbledore!" bellowed Snape. "She named me godfather, and with the mutt in Azkaban and the Longbottoms indisposed I am the next in line to raise Lily's child."

"You think I would place the child in the hands of a Death Eater? No. The child will be raised by the Dursleys without any interference from you."

"You know well that I can't abide by that order, old man. The Godfather bond was formed when I was first told I was Lily's choice. Only potential death can keep me from the boy."

"In that case, Severus Tobias Snape, I call upon the life debt you owe me for protecting you from the veil. You shall not go anywhere near the Dursleys residence in Surrey nor will you seek to fulfill your Godfather bond with the boy until he comes to Hogwarts. So mote it be."

Severus felt the weight of the order like straps around his chest. How was he to go against Dumbledore now? His life was forfeit.

(italics from pg. 676-678 of HP and the Deathly Hallows)

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I've decided to post two chapters at once, so please enjoy the next chapter and review!


	10. Chapter 9- A Solution

The usual disclaimers apply; I don't own Harry Potter or NCIS, nor do I benefit from the use of these characters beyond the satisfaction of their inclusion in my works.

Chapter 9- A Solution

"As you can see," stated Severus, "I was unable to come to the boy's aid, even when the bond told me that he was in dire need. Two evenings ago, the bond registered that the boy was in need of aid. I could tell the child was no longer in Surrey or under the same residence as the Dursleys, so I caught the first flight to the States. I didn't dare travel by magical means in case I was tracked by the Old Man."

Gibbs, took a deep breath and then another. He would have said the man was crazy if not for the fact that there was still a lion cub batting at his hands and he had just watched the man's memories play in front of him like a hologram. The most amazing thing, though, was that he didn't believe that the man was lying to him. Gibbs was excellent at gleaning the truth and the man appeared to be truthful.

"What's the imperius curse?" asked Gibbs

Severus suppressed a small smile when he realized that the man before him believed his story. Passive legilimency was making this rather easier than he thought it would. Being able to tell the truth was making things even simpler though.

Returning to the matter at hand, he lectured "The imperius curse is one of the three unforgivable curses. It forces the victim to do whatever the caster chooses for them to do. In my case, I was forced to join the Dark Lord and be his fully obedient servant. This got the Dark side the youngest potions master in the last century. My inclusion into the ranks pushed Lucius into Voldemort's inner circle. My skills did the same for me shortly after I was inducted. This made me a valuable spy for the Light- not that the Old Man ever cared that I was under the imperius to begin with." Severus' voice had turned dark near the end of his explanation.

"If you were placed under the imperius curse for three years, how were you able to break the spell?"

Severus steeled himself before answering; "I was ordered on a raid against the Potters. I loved Lily and, even when ordered, couldn't bring myself to hurt her. Near the end of the battle, I broke the spell during the fight and managed to apparate-teleport- myself and Lily to an abandoned building and let her capture me. I had veritaserum on me- it's an unbeatable truth serum- and she was able to ascertain my truthfulness. She made me Hadrian's godfather later that day. I am now almost completely immune to that spell."

"How did you get around your vow and the life debt to be here?"

"Dumbledore only specified that I could go nowhere near the Dursley residence. He said nothing about your house. Just because I cannot fulfill my duty to take care of Harry as godfather, does not mean I can't look after him as I would a neighborhood child or one of my snakes."

"Snakes?"

"Hogwarts is made up of four houses into which students are sorted based on a personality test: Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor. I am the head of Slytherin house and the house mascot of Slytherin is a snake, therefore, the charges under my care are my snakes."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow but said nothing more on that topic.

"What did you have in mind with regards to Hadrian?"

"I have spent the last day checking into your past and determining your character. You are incredibly protective, honorable, good with children, and don't take shit from anyone. I even believe that you took revenge on the people who murdered your wife and child- yes I know about them- Shannon and Kelly."

Gibbs barely resisted drawing his weapon on the man after his pronouncement.

"I have no care about what you did to avenge their deaths, gods know I'm still working to avenge Lily's. No. What I have with me is a potion that would make Hadrian your son. He would have your DNA within him and any paternity test would declare him to be yours. All it would take is a drop of your blood in this potion and allowing Hadrian to drink it. This would automatically grant you custody of the child in the magical and non-magical world. To make sure that no one could interfere, I suggest that you allow the child to drink the potion a second time, but this time with my blood in the potion. I could then take up the responsibility of magical guardian and shield him in the magical world."

Gibbs set aside his doubts for the time being and indulged in this conversation, "If you can't take up your godfather duties, how would you be able to take up magical guardianship?"

"Legally, I would be the boy's father, just as much as you would be and as much as James was. The godfather bond would dissolve, but I would be able to help Harry in life much sooner than Dumbledore's life-debt would allow."

"Will this potion harm the child?"

"Each time taking the potion will cause upwards of a minute of pain. The body will be restructuring itself on a cellular level to include the new DNA. The pain will pass quickly and the child could easily take the potion again five minutes later. There has never been any documents effect of unbearable pain or negative side effects. However, this is a permanent solution. Once this is done, Hadrian will be- irrevocably- our son. Naturally, you would take primary custody and care of the child until he is able to begin his magical education. I would then step in to ensure his safety in the magical world… Perhaps I could be his Uncle Severus?... Anyhow, my primary concern is to ensure his safety for the time being. This would legally ensure him protection by the American magical society from the Old Man's British holdings"

Gibbs nodded. This seemed like a logical solution to a particularly complicated problem.

"Why would you be an uncle rather than a father?" asked Gibbs.

"Harry needs a stable home environment. I am unable to provide this until I'm free from my spying duties. While the Dark Lord has been driven underground, Dumbledore does not believe that he was killed the night that Hadrian's parents were murdered. He was likely severely wounded and is taking some years to recuperate. Until he is killed, I will not be released from my duties as a spy for the Light and am, therefore, an illogical guardian for the boy. "

Gibbs gave a nod. Snape's explanation made sense. However, it would not do to agree before knowing more about the dangers of the magical world.

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"Who is this Dark Lord and what made him so bad?"

"His original name was Tom Marvolo Riddle but rearranging the letters, he fashioned himself a new name, Lord Voldemort. People in the wizarding world still fear to speak his name because a taboo was placed over it during the last reign of terror; they would soon be hunted down and killed if they spoke the name. Even now, saying his name brings pain to the mark of his followers." Here he rolled up his sleeves to show the snake and scull branded into his forearm. "This mark can be used to summon his followers, cause them pain, and keep track their life forces."

Here Gibbs allowed a slight wince to pass through his features at the implications of carrying that mark.

"What were the Dark Lord's goals?"

"He wanted to become the supreme ruler of all magical people and lead them in enslaving all non-magical peoples. He, alone, is responsible for the decline of a fifth of wizarding Britain's population not ten years ago; between those killed by him, at his orders, and because they followed him, there is not one longstanding wizarding family untouched by his quest for power. And even this does not account for the sordid raids against the non-magical peoples"

"Assuming I adopt Hadrian, how would we keep him safe from the war."

This time, Severus did smile. It was small and barely there, just an slight upward tilt of the lips, but noticeable nonetheless. Not only was the man before him considering his proposal, but he was already thinking of protecting his godson.

"Once you and I are legally the boy's fathers, I could then contact Gringotts- the wizards bank- and hire them to ward your property against all basic household accidents: fire, flood, rain damage, falls. Not only that, I would key only Hadrian and I into the wards, thus preventing any other magical person from coming onto your property without my explicit permission. Non-magicals would not be affected, but the child would be safer from magicals. The boy might still be in danger if his location is discovered outside of the wards, but I can give him an emergency portkey to get him back to the house instantly if he were to run into danger or, merlin forbid, be kidnapped."

Gibbs sat silently for some time, occasionally sipping his beer before coming to a conclusion.

"Okay." He said. "I'll do it." _After all_ , he thought, _the worst that could happen is I wake up in the morning with a blinding headache proving this is all my imagination._ The small lion bit into his finger. _Or not._

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Severus relaxed minutely when he heard that pronouncement. He had been prepared to obliviate the man of this conversation, force him asleep, plant the idea of a paternity test for the boy, before taking his blood and ensuring that Hadrian obtained his guardianship. It might have lead to severe confusion on the muggle's part, but, based on the man's character, would have ensured Harry a protector and a better life. Severus would then have retained the godfather bond with the boy, to keep tabs on his health, and pursued either the bond or secondary adoption when Harry began his magical education.

Having Gibbs willing to agree was a much more palatable solution.

Severus produced two bottles of the potion and two dog-tag necklaces from his expanded cloak pockets. He handed both necklaces to Gibbs and explained, "These dog-tags both contain charms to protect your minds from magical intrusion and doubles as a portkey back to this property. If Harry's portkey is activated, your will warm up and automatically follow when you are no-longer within sight of non-magicals. The activation words are 'Finding Home' speak them out loud and the portkey will activate."

"And the potions?"

"It would be logical that we each put a drop of blood in one before we go up to inform the boy."

Suiting words to action, Severus opened one of the bottles, used his wand to create a small wound on his hand, and allowed a drop of blood to fall into the potion, before healing his cut. Gibbs did the same, but with a knife he'd taken from his boot. Severus healed his wound while they watched the potions change from a dark black to a navy blue for Severus and to a butter-cream yellow for Gibbs.

They proceeded up the stairs to the child's room.

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Well all, if Harry agrees, it looks like he's not going with Child Services after all! I'm looking forward to writing Abby's reaction when she runs that paternity test though! Please review! Your encouragement keeps me going.


	11. Chapter 10- The Adoption

The usual disclaimers apply; I don't own Harry Potter or NCIS, nor do I benefit from the use of these characters beyond the satisfaction of their inclusion in my works.

Chapter 10- The Adoption

Harry had woken shortly after Gibbs had tucked him into the guest-room bed. He didn't want to disturb Jethro, so he had decided to take his time and work with his green power. He slowly unwrapped the power from around his ribs, wincing at the pain before thinking of healing and applying the green power back to his ribs. His ribs immediately knitted themselves back together. He wasn't sure if he should do the same with his back, though- maybe Jethro didn't want him to heal over- night too… his uncle certainly hadn't liked it. He decided that he'd better leave the marks until he was sure it would be okay for them to be gone, but he kept that numbing charm on his back in place so that he could function pain free.

To keep himself entertained, he thought of light and led his green power back into his hands. With a look of intense concentration, he conjured a ball of light in each of his hands and started passing them back and forth. He was so focused on this exercise that he did not hear the faint sound of feet coming up the steps to his room or the minor creek of the door as it opened. However, he was distracted from his game when a sharp intake of breath was emitted to the right of his bed.

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While Gibbs was in slight awe at the sight of the child juggling a magical light, Severus gave a sharp intake of breath; it was said to be near impossible to lead magic through your non-dominant hand. Let alone the fact that the child was clearly doing wordless, wandless magic, even Severus- a fully trained wizard who had practiced for years- could only create one ball of magic/light in such a fashion. The boy's core must have been pushed along even further then he thought to create such an effect at such a young age.

In his fear at being caught using his green power, Harry launched one ball toward the foot of the bed where it dissolved due to his lack of focus and one ball toward the tall black haired man who'd come in with Jethro. However, just as Harry was about to leap off of the bed and present himself in punishment position (he'd found it better to comply before being asked in such circumstances), the dark haired man caught the green powered light in his right hand and held it up for inspection.

"This is excellent work, Harry" drawled the man while sustaining the light despite Harry's lapsed concentration.

Harry held very still. He couldn't believe what the man had said to him… He'd just complemented his green power!

"Hadrian" Gibbs laid claim to Harry's attention while Severus gave a final inspection of the ball before releasing the magic holding it together. "We've found your aunt and uncle."

However, before Gibbs could continue, Harry's shock at the compliment dissipated and he started shivering- _They're going to send me back to them! I don't think I can survive being sent back to them. I knew good couldn't last. Now they know I'm a freak._ His thoughts continued to roil.

He jumped when he felt a gentile arm come around his shoulders and Gibbs whisper in his ear, "Relax, Little Man. We would _never_ send you back to those bastards." Gibbs carded his free hand through Harry's hair.

The combined effect of Gibb's strong statement and the non-painful physical touch seemed to get through to Harry. He signed to Gibbs, "So what's my punishment?"

"Punishment, Little Man?"

"For using the Green Power. I'm a Freak. Freaks that use the Green Power get collared."

"There will be no punishment, Little Man" stated Gibbs sincerely, "No one will ever collar you again."

"He's right, Hadrian" said Severus, "Mr. Gibbs will always protect you from the bad guys. As will I."

Harry looked questioningly at the dark-haired man's direction before looking back at Gibbs.

"Severus. He's a friend, Harry. He's come up with a way to keep you from the Dursleys forever, if you're interested"

 _If I'm interested!_ Thought Harry, _Of course I'm interested! I wonder what they want from me to never be with the Dursley's again… Maybe it wouldn't be too bad being collared by Jethro… he's made sure I saw Ducky and was healing and let me play with Abby._

Thinking fast, Harry slipped out of Jethro's grasp, stood on the floor and started to get into punishment position while saying, "I'll do anything to be away from them! Anything. I'll be a good boy"

Gibbs and Severus shared a look before Severus said in his softest voice, "Child, we don't want that from you."

" _Never. Never again,_ Little Man." Gibbs emphasized while pulling him upright, setting him back into bed, and carding a soothing hand through his hair.

Tears started streaming down Harry's, what could they want from him to take him away from the Dursleys. He shakily signed to Gibbs, "What do you want from me then?"

Severus and Gibbs shared another look, their resolve hardening further- No one would hurt this child again where they could prevent it.

Severus said, "There is a medicine, a potion, that will allow us to adopt you. You would be our son by blood and nobody could ever take you away from us."

Harry started nodding, tears still streaming down his face; he would gladly take medicine and accept new parents if it meant getting away from the Dursleys for good.

Severus took out his wand and ran a health scan on the boy. His ribs were completely healed and the numbing charm on them had been removed. This gave him an idea.

"Now Hadrian, I know this is hard for you to believe, but I can work the green power too." Severus conjured a ball of light in his right hand, bouncing it up and down before letting it dissipate. "Now I'd bet your _family_ " he sneered the word "has told you that there's no such thing as magic. They lied. As sure as you r parents died to save you, magic is real."

Harry didn't know what to make of that pronouncement, so he kept quiet and continued to listen to the man.

"Now I know that you are numbing the pain in your back with magic and that you have healed your ribs with your magic." Here harry started to look scared again and Severus rushed to sooth him, "I'm very proud of you using that charm and healing yourself, Harry." Harry looked slightly baffled at that pronouncement but allowed himself to relax back into Jethro's arm, so Severus continued. "Now, the potion that we want you to take will cause every cell in your body to change to look more like Jethro and I. Normally, this would be a short but rather painful process. However, before you drink this potion, I want you to numb as much of your body as you can before drinking it."

Harry nodded… if the man could really use the green power- _magic_ , he corrected himself- then maybe he knew when it was okay to use it?

"That's a good boy, Hadrian. Now we're going to have you drink the potion to make you Jethro's son first. Numb as much of yourself as you can, now please."

Harry did as he was told. He'd finally come to the conclusion that this must be a really good dream and that he was going to do everything he could to make sure it continued. It would be nice to have two guardians who cared about him like these two seemed to.

"Now," said Severus, sensing the numbing charm along the child's body, "Drink all of the potion in one go."

Gibbs lifted his potion to the child's lips and the boy drank deeply until the vial was empty.

"Are you in any pain, Little Man?" asked Gibbs

Hadrian simply shook his head. Severus nodded in satisfaction before setting a timer with his wand.

The next five minutes passed peacefully. The boy remained mostly numb while Gibbs continued to support his back while carding a hand through his hair.

"It's time" stated Severus.

The child opened his eyes to find Severus presenting another bottle of potion to Gibbs. Severus took the child's numb hands in his and looked him in the eyes.

"Hadrian" he said "I Severus Tobias Snape, do swear on my life and magic that I will protect you wherever possible from those who would seek to harm you. So mote it be." Green and blue magic met and sealed Severus' promise with magic.

Gibbs then tipped Severus' potion down the child's throat and the child's eyes fell closed again while he was swallowing.

When he was done, Harry decided to ask a question that he'd always wanted to but never had the chance… after all, if he was dreaming, maybe his dream mind would grant him his wish? Letting go of most of the full body numbing charm he turned to Gibbs and said, "Jethro, if you're my Dad now, can… can I sleep with you? Would you keep the monsters away?"

Gibbs almost choked on the sudden lump in his throat, but managed to get out, "Sure, Little Man."

Harry smiled, the first truly unguarded smile Gibbs had seen the child give, before falling asleep completely in Jethro's arms.

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"That went exponentially better than I thought it would" came Severus' voice drawing Gibbs into conversation.

Gibbs grunted in response before asking, "So, the child didn't feel any pain?"

"That is correct; he is simply exhausted by his use of magic and the potions running through his system. Over the next month the child will likely gain your and my height, some of our bone structure… though hopefully not my nose. His eyes, blood, and saliva will may change drastically over-night. Any magical paternity test taken in the morning will show the four of us as his parents. Lily's DNA will be present for any maternal paternity test. As a non-magical, though, your DNA will be most prevalent to non-magical machines unless I tainted the sample with a potion to enable detection of magical paternal DNA as well. I won't do that, though, as you need to gain full custody of the child"

Gibbs nodded before hefting the child up and carrying him to his room. "You may stay in this room tonight, Severus"

Severus nodded his thanks as Gibbs disappeared through the door with the child in his arms.

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Here's Mondays' promised chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading through Harry's adoption! I'll try to get another chapter out before the week is through.


	12. Chapter 11- Consequences

The usual disclaimers apply; I don't own Harry Potter or NCIS, nor do I benefit from the use of these characters beyond the satisfaction of their inclusion in my works.

Chapter 11- Consequences

Harry awoke to the feeling of being warm and safe, almost like he was tucked into the arms of someone who cared about him. Thinking that he was still dreaming, he burrowed more securely into the warm feeling before becoming aware of the soft rising and falling of the chest he was leaning against. He stilled before steeling himself and opening his eyes to face the reality of his situation.

To his shock, he found he was in Gibb's bedroom, tucked securely into the arms of his protector. He looked up into the face of Jethro and was surprised to see a contented smile gracing his visage. Gibbs eyes were open and they were calmly studying Harry's face.

"Just relax, Little Man."

Harry did as he was told before drifting back into a slight doze, he felt a lingering tiredness in is limbs and would gladly sleep some more because, for once, he felt safe.

Gibbs had been awed by the changes in the boy. They weren't overly noticeable to someone who didn't know to look for a change, but to one who did… Harry's nose had become slightly more defined, but retained much of Lily's shape, his cheeks appeared slightly hollower, but his skin had retained his pale coloring. However, it was his eyes that had changed the most. While Lily's shape was still blindingly obvious, they had changed from a striking emerald color to a distinctive deep, sparling, seafoam green… like Lily's emerald had met Gibb's blue and taken on Severus' dark tint.

Gibbs slipped out of bed and made his way to the coffee machine. Today he would have to have Abby run a DNA test on the child to search for any relatives that weren't the Dursleys. _She is in for a shock_ , Gibbs almost chuckled.

Coming into the kitchen, Gibbs saw Severus sitting at the table with a golden scroll, an ink well, a quill, and two small vials of potion. Severus took a moment to finish what he was writing before looking up to Gibbs.

"Mr. Gibbs" he started before being cut off by Jethro.

"Jethro"

Severus nodded.

"Jethro. I'm sure that the changes in the boy are starting to show by now, however, it occurred to me that it would be best to secure guardianship of the child in every way possible. What I have here is a golden scroll, it is a document onto which one can create a magically binding contract. I have written up a formal exchange of guardianship. It will be up to you to get the Dursleys, particularly Petunia, to sign away their rights to the child. Come sign it now."

Gibbs moved from the coffee pot with a mug of coffee in his hands, sat at the table and read through the document. "Why sign now?" he asked.

"I want to be absolutely certain that there is no way that guardianship can be removed from you should someone else come upon these papers. If your name is already signed as accepting guardianship, the document will be magically binding and a duplicate will appear to be filed in the American Ministry of Magic the moment that Petunia and Vernon have signed the document. This will give you another layer of protection against the Old Man should he claim Harry must be at the Dursley's for his own safety."

Gibbs looked at Severus incredulously.

"I would not put it past him" was the only reply that he received.

Gibbs nodded and signed the document with the offered quill. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it properly.

Severus then pointed toward the vials; "In these vials are two potions. One forces the drinker to tell the truth while the other… let's just call it an herbal supplement for Vernon Dursley." At Gibbs look he elaborated "It won't kill him… it will… simply thank him for his care of Harry in such a way that he will no longer be able to commit such acts again."

"Simply?" Gibbs pressed.

"Well" said Severus "if one were to develop aggressive gangrene in certain parts of their anatomy, there's no way that they'll be able to use it properly again… Who knows? He might even lose it."

"Can it be traced?"

"Of course not, the body quickly metabolizes both potions and, while Dursley may feel a bit nauseous with the use of the truth serum, there's no way even a blood test would detect a biological substance at work."

Gibbs held his hand out for the vials, Severus indicating which was which as he handed them over. They could be mixed together with water during an interrogation.

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Vernon Dursley had not had a very nice night. At around 2200 a maid with an Israeli accent had knocked at his door. Naturally, he had answered in a bathrobe and his shorts while grumbling about Americans allowing foreign layabouts into their country. As soon as the door was opened, his arm was grabbed and he was yanked out into the hallway. He'd just started to bellow out his frustration when an elbow at his ribs and fingers along pressure points on his neck caused him to wheeze for breath. He staggered slightly toward the lady who'd assaulted him, only to have his right knee kicked out from under him. As he fell toward his knees, he felt a hand light a fire of pain up his back before finding himself in double-cuffs- his arms were two big to just use one set.

During this drama, a man had come up to the door to his hotel room, restrained his wife, all the while gleefully explaining that they were with NCIS- the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and that Vernon was under arrest for the murder of a petty officer, sexual abuse of a child, physical abuse of a child, and attempted murder of said child. His wife, as an accomplice to murder, was also under arrest. They read charges of child abuse and neglect off to her as well.

His son had been carted off with an unknown child services lady for the next, undetermined, amount of time. He'd complained loudly that the lady had interrupted his show.

Vernon had then been driven by the Israeli to jail while the man and a Special Agent, Anthony DiNozzo, had escorted his wife to the same location. Due to the crowded nature of the cells, Vernon was unable to claim a bed. Unfortunately for him, even being stored in the drunk tank did not save him from a beating when those in the other cells passed the word down that he was a child sexual offender. He had suffered from five cracked ribs, two black eyes, and a dislocated jaw before being carted to the hospital at around 0200. He was returned to jail at around 0600 and kept in an empty interrogation room for the duration of the night.

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Petunia Dursley was incredibly anxious. Not only had she been rudely pulled from her hotel room, read her rights, and been tossed into a cell with five drunk women, but they had taken her precious Didlykins away from her. She had no idea if he was getting his midnight snack, or if he was being properly taken care of. Almost, worse yet, someone had apparently leaked what the charges were against herself and her husband. Her dear, sweat Vernon had been jumped on by angry drunk men and taken to the hospital- she had yet to hear of his return. She'd even been threatened by the heaviest drunk female that if she left her corner of the tank, she would be receiving the same as her husband. As it was, it was a long night of standoff between Petunia and the violent drunk women.

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"Good Morning, Hadrian" spoke Severus as he saw Harry come down the stairs timidly.

"Morning, Sir" said Harry shyly.

"None of that, Harry. While I appreciate your respect, you may call me Uncle Severus or Sev, as you mother called me."

Harry was shocked, he knew the man had mentioned his parents last night, but had the man really known his mother?!

Gibbs seemed to know what was running through the child's mind; he'd been told by the child only yesterday that his parents had died, according to his aunt, in a drunken crash.

"Come sit, Little Man. We got to talk to you about something."

Harry nervously climbed into a seat at the table while Gibbs got a glass of milk for the child.

"It's nothing bad, Harry" comforted Severus. "We just need to give you some information about what we did last night and why."

Harry jerkily nodded his head while reaching for the milk.

"Firstly, Harry. I will tell you about your parents. Their names were Lily and James Potter and they loved you very much. Anything that your aunt and uncle told you about them was probably a lie. Now when you were born, there was a war going on among the magical peoples. Your mother and father were fighters for the side of the Light. Near the end of the war, the Dark Lord decided to attempt to wipe out your whole family. He targeted your grandparents, your parents, and eventually you. However, somehow you survived and he was badly wounded. Your parents died protecting you- they truly did love you."

Harry sat taking the story in, "So, are all magic users bad people?"

"No, Harry. There are good people and there are bad people in the world. This is true for magical people as well. Your parents were good people" stated Gibbs.

Harry nodded hesitantly so Severus continued.

"Because you were there when the Dark Lord fell there are people who will want to control you . Some of them would like to kill you , one of the powerful ones, though, wants you to go back to your aunt and uncle"

Harry began to look afraid at this statement.

"However," continued Severus "since Jethro and I have adopted you, there is no way that we're going to let that happen. Firstly, I will be having this house warded against all other magical people besides you and I, Hadrian. If you're in this house you will be safe from bad magical peoples. Likewise, I have supplied both you and Jethro with a portkey."

At this, Jethro produced a dog-tag necklace that matched the one around his neck, however, this one said "Hadrian James Potter" on the front rather than "Leroy Jethro Gibbs". He placed the necklace around Harry's neck and Harry automatically reached up to fiddle with the tag.

"This necklace acts like an automatic transfer device. It will deposit you in the guest room of this house if you speak the words 'Finding Home'. It will feel like a hook has been placed at your navel and you'll feel a spinning sensation before landing beside the bed. You are to use this anytime you are in danger. Jethro's portkey will take him to the guestroom as soon as he's not in the presence of non-magicals. You may try it now if you would like."

Harry hesitantly reached up to the necklace and very quietly whispered the words 'Finding Home' before being swept away and deposited beside the bed. The entire process was disorientating, but the feel of the magic of the portkey was exhilarating.

Gibbs had barely had a moment to change his stance before he felt his necklace heat up in warning and he was taken on his first ever portkey ride. He did not find it enjoyable. He was particularly happy that they'd not eaten breakfast yet as he landed beside a smiling child.

"That was cool, wasn't it Jethro" signed/spoke the child, for once forgetting himself in the moment.

"It was something, Little Man. Let's head back down stairs."

They entered the kitchen and were waved back to their seats by Severus.

"As I was saying, the portkey shouldn't be used except during a dire emergency. However, we have another protection we'd like to put in place. We have drawn up a document which will cause the Dursleys to legally forfeit their custody of you when they sign it. I would like you to sign it now so that it becomes fully binding after receiving the Dursley's signature. This way they can't have you back even if one of the bad men backed them."

Harry nodded eagerly, he'd said he'd do anything not to go back to the Dursleys.

Looking at the document, he was able to read and understand most of the writing, he saw where he would insert his name into the text and wrote Hadrian James Potter, but was confused when he read the line under which said, "child's (new) name"

"What does this mean?" he asked Gibbs

"It means," said Gibbs, "that you will be able to pick a new name if you'd like one."

"Do you think I should?"

"It would be a new start for you" chimed in Severus

"I want to make all my parents happy" said Harry shyly.

"If I may make a suggestion?" stated Severus

Gibbs looked up curiously while Harry nodded.

"How about Hadrian Jameson Lilium Gibbs? You would keep your first name, for it _is_ a handsome name and, if I'm not incorrect, honors your maternal and paternal grandfathers. Jameson- Son of James would replace your middle and last name and honor your father, James. Lilium, after your mother, though I suppose you could also shorten it to Liam if you wished. And, Gibbs, because Jethro will be your primary guardian in the coming years."

Harry and Gibbs remained silent. Gibbs because this was the boy's choice and Harry because he was thinking hard.

"What about you?" Harry finally asked Severus.

"The inclusion of Lilium would be enough for me" stated Severus.

"Okay, then," said Harry, signing the document, Hadrian Jameson Lilium Gibbs.

Severus departed to Gringotts after impressing upon Harry the secrecy of magic, his blood adoption included, from non-magicals.

Harry and Gibbs headed to the NCIS offices.

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Hey all! Here's another chapter; it's the longest one yet, so I hope that you enjoyed it!

Thank you everyone who has given me such encouraging reviews! They truly lead me to write more and often.


	13. Chapter 12- Confrontations

The usual disclaimers apply; I don't own Harry Potter or NCIS, nor do I benefit from the use of these characters beyond the satisfaction of their inclusion in my works.

Warning: the interrogation of the Dursleys in located in this chapter, therefore the will be mentions of rape, child abuse and murder. If this bothers you, skip the sections that start with Gibbs entering an interrogation room.

Chapter 12- Confrontations

"Abbs" called Gibb's voice as he exited the elevator with Hadrian.

"Hi Abby!" signed Harry over the loud music as Abby turned around. Abby quickly reduced the noise.

"I need you to run a DNA test" said Gibbs, putting a hand on Hadrian's shoulder. "Find me any relatives of child that aren't the Dursleys."

"You know that there are, like, billions of people in the world Gibbs. We don't have all their DNA on file and some of them aren't accessible."

"Try"

"Yes Sir-Gibbs" barked Abby while saluting.

With a fond half smile, Gibbs corrected her salute before leaving Hadrian in her care.

"Well, Little Man, I guess it's just you and me." She grabbed a lab q-tip, had Harry swab the inside of his cheek, and started processing his DNA… _Better start with the Brits I've got access to_ thought Abby as she got to work after providing a DNA coloring book for Harry to amuse himself with.

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Gibbs had Tony and Ziva bring the Dursleys into separate interrogation rooms. He decided to tackle Vernon Dursley first. However, before he went into the room, he found a glass of water, a blind spot from the cameras, and placed three drops of truth serum and one drop of "herbal remedy" into the glass. He then made his way to interrogation while discretely checking his suit pocket for the golden scroll he'd stashed there earlier that morning. Reaching the interrogation door, he could hear a man ranting on the other side.

He took a deep breath before entering the room and bellowing, "Shut up and sit down!" He loudly banged the water on the table and forced it over to Dursley.

Dursley looked awful. Both his eyes were purpled and puffy, his bulk was straining against the rib brace he was forced to wear, and the sweat suit he'd been provided was nearly two sizes too small, truly giving him the appearance of a fat walrus. However, he glared disdainfully at the glass before realizing just how thirsty he really was and drowning the whole of it in three gulps; he'd not been provided water since his arrest as he'd been too involved with telling off the guards anytime they'd have considered offering.

Gibbs started the questioning right away, forgoing most of his usual interrogation techniques and trusting the truth serum to have kicked in for a limited amount of time.

"You have a nephew named Hadrian James Potter, is this true?"

"Yes. My wife's sister's kid. The freak had better have kept his mouth shut if he knows what's good for him."

"Did you threaten his life if he led the investigation of his assault and abuse to you?" ask Gibbs, searching for another thing to charge him with.

"Of course I did! The brat's not allowed to speak anyway."

Gibbs restrained his temper and continued on- Severus' truth serum was making this almost too easy.

"Why did you murder Petty Officer McCathy?"

"That jarhead? He came up just as I was disposing of the boy. Drunk as he was I kicked his arse."

"I doubt that you could have overcome a marine"

"He was tipsy, so I bashed him over the head with a pipe before grabbing his own knife from him… Bastard still tried fighting me, so I slashed him with his own knife and stabbed him when he fell down. Served him right for trying to interfere with my discipline of the Freak."

Gibbs color started to rise as he demanded, "What do you call discipline of the child?"

"I beat the crap out of him. He's a freak. I've even raped the boy to teach him to keep his freakishness away from our family."

Gibbs knew better than to ask what made the boy a freak in the eyes of the Dursleys, so he skipped that question and asked another… one he didn't really want to know the answer to.

"How many times have you raped the child?"

"As many as I could stand. Taught him his first lesson when he was five years old and have had to reinforce it four times each year since."

"You're saying that you've raped a child 12 times?!" Gibbs was beginning to feel sick, at least Dursley was dead to rights based on his own confession.

"Of course. He's a freak…"

"Is any child safe from you?"

"Yes. I would never harm my precious Dudley or normal children."

"Hadrian is a perfectly normal child" growled Gibbs

"I never wanted him in the first place!" hollered Dursley.

Gibbs thought this the perfect opening. He pulled out the golden scroll, and slammed it and a pen onto the table in front of Dursley and stated vehemently, "Then get rid of him then!"

Vernon quickly scanned the document before gleefully signing away the child. He didn't know who Leroy Jethro Gibbs was, but he was simply thrilled not to have responsibility for the boy.

It didn't occur to him until Gibbs left the interrogation room that the boy could have been used as a bargaining tool. When he realized just how much he had admitted. He screamed.

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Ziva, Tony, and McGee watched in awe as their boss took apart Vernon Dursley and legally removed the child form his custody.

They exited the observation room just in time to see Gibbs turn into the bathroom. None of them followed him. Instead, they presented themselves to the observation room of Petunia Dursley.

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Gibbs was sickened by the interview that he had just conducted and leaned his head against the wall of the bathroom while he attempted to compose himself for the interview with Mrs. Dursley. While he hoped vehemently that she had not touched to boy, he was fast losing hope for the Dursley family. He retrieved another glass of water, returned to his blind spot, and again placed three drops of Veritaserum into the glass before continuing onto Petunia's interrogation room.

Petunia Dursley sat primly in her seat, though her shoulders sagged with exhaustion. She was worried for Dudley and Vernon; were they being fed right? Vernon had been hurt; how was he doing? Was that Vernon she heard screaming occasionally? What could they possibly be doing to him? She was interrupted from her thoughts when Gibbs walked into the room and quietly presented her a glass of water. He took a seat and observed Petunia with a poker face. She nervously began to sip her water.

Once there were only dregs in the glass, Gibbs began, "Mrs. Dursley." She jumped in her seat.

"Do you, or do you not, have custody of the child, Hadrian James Potter."

"I do" she said, seemingly trying to fight herself when she realized she was speaking.

Gibbs began to feel predatory.

"Have you abused the child under your care?"

"I would never harm Dudley!" she bit out quickly.

"Have you ever harmed Hadrian James Potter"

She fought with herself before answering, "Yes" she bit out.

"In what ways have you harmed the Hadrian Potter."

Tears began streaming down her face as she realized that she couldn't keep herself from speaking and her voice became venomous with latent hatred.

"I look the other way when my husband punishes the freak, I deny the boy food from our table and swat at him when he is disobedient."

Gibbs knew that the truth serum would only last a short amount of time, so switched his line of questioning.

"What part did you play with the murder of Petty Officer McCathy?"

At this point Petunia knew she was defeated and there was no point in fighting whatever was making her speak. She spoke sulkily, "I encouraged Vernon to dispose of the weapons and praised his efforts at getting rid of the drunken pest to society."

This was enough to charge her with being an accomplice after the fact.

Gibbs moved on to his final duty to the boy.

"Mrs. Dursley. You don't want the boy." He stated.

She nodded her head- what else did she have to lose?

Gibbs produced the document signed by Vernon and passed it and a pen over to Petunia.

"Sign this and I'll consider saying that you've cooperated with the investigation. You'll claim that you were repentant and could do one good thing for the boy. Looks good to the lawyers."

Petunia's eyes began to reclaim some of their sparkle. She signed the document. Gibbs quickly pocketed it and headed for the door. As a parting shot, he said, "Course, I'll tell them that you didn't think twice about giving the child to a stranger." Petunia tossed her glass at the closing door.

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"That interrogation did not make sense" stated Ziva. "It was too easy."

"The Boss works in mysterious ways, Ziva" chimed in Tony.

McGee kept his own council, leading the others out the door and back to the bullpen.

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Director Shepard was concerned about Gibbs… again. She had just received word from child services that her lead agent had become the permanent legal guardian of their current case's abused child. She had nothing against the boy; she'd been to see him playing down in Abby's lab, communicating in British Sign Language with Abby, Ducky, and Gibbs, and occasionally writing at Gibb's desk. The child was sweet.

What she had a problem with was Gibbs becoming the guardian of a child when they didn't even know if he had any other relatives out there. As a matter of fact, how had he even gained custody of a British child so fast?! She summoned Gibbs up to her office.

Gibbs entered the office, closed the door, and drawled, "What's up Director?"

"You know what's up Jethro! You can't just claim custody of any lost child you come across" Forcing a piece of paper into his hands, Gibbs observed the non-magical version of the golden scroll he still carried in his inner jacket pocket. _Dang the magicals work fast! Severus said that a magical copy would find its way to the American Ministry of Magic, but I never imagined that they'd work this fast in filing on the non-magical side. Diversion necessary now!_

"The Social Services lady tell on me, Jen?"

"Her name was Jennifer Livingston, Jethro. She's the head of Child Services in the DC area. Even she was shocked to see the paperwork come through. How did you get custody?"

"I've got friends too, Director."

"Cut the crap, Jethro. I'm worried about you. Kids will grow up. They get better at lying. They don't stay young forever. What are you going to be like with a teenage child?"

"I'll take care of him, Jen. He's special."

At this point, the conversation was interrupted by Abby flying into the office waving five sheets of paper and all but shouting, "Gibbs! Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs!"

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So folks, here was the interrogation of the Dursleys and the appearance of Director Shepard. I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter!


	14. Chapter 13- The Results

The usual disclaimers apply; I don't own Harry Potter or NCIS, nor do I benefit from the use of these characters beyond the satisfaction of their inclusion in my works.

Chapter 3- The Results

Abby was twirling around her lab processing the DNA tests of the Dursleys that McGee had had the misfortune of having to collect prior to their interrogations. A positive result rang out from her computer. She looked at the screen and sighed; _Harry is, indeed, related to the horse woman_ Abby thought, before deciding that that comparison was an insult to horses.

No. She steeled her resolve. She would not let Harry's only relatives be the bastards that abused him. _Forensics would not fail her_! A thought occurred to her that there were NCIS agents stationed overseas as well. She left her main computer running through the British DNA database she'd accessed and opened another scan on a laptop. This one she programed to run through the DNA of every NCIS agent that she could get her scanners on.

Thirty minutes later, an unusual chime sounded from the backup laptop. Abby spun around before recognizing the meaning of the sound, jumping up with a click of her heals, and rushing toward the computer. A picture had been brought up on the screen, one that she had a hard time comprehending. She looked back at Harry. He was nodding along with the music and fastidiously coloring within the lines of the DNA coloring book she'd created for him. He had a serious look on his face. She looked back at the screen.

 _No_. she thought in disbelief. _I'm running this again_. She paused the action of the main computers and authorized the comparison between Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Hadrian James Potter's DNA.

They were a match.

She ran the test five times before re-booting the computers, re-testing the DNA, and running it through the main computers again. She could not afford to be wrong about this.

The results remained the same; Leroy Jethro Gibbs was, indeed, Hadrian James Potter's father.

Her mind began to whirl. Gibbs needed to know this ASAP.

She called Ducky on the on the video monitor and said in a rush. "Ducky, Ducky, Ducky! I have to get these results to Gibbs ASAP! Is autopsy clear? Can you watch Harry?"

"Take a breath, dear Abagail. Feel free to bring the child down. I'll check on his health while he's here." Ducky had barely been able to finish before Abby had called Hadrian to her, lead him to the door, and switched off the video monitor with a hastily stated, "Be right there Ducky!"

Harry was soon in the capable hands of Doctor Mallard, who took the opportunity to brush up on his rusty British Sign Language skills. He began, "Now, here's an interesting tale. Once when I was riding caravan in Sudan and we came across five small lion cubs. Their parents had been killed by poachers. Naturally, we rescued the wee things- they were terribly dehydrated… "

Hadrian was soon enraptured by the tale.

Meanwhile, Abby had made her way up to the bullpen and demanded of the team, "Where's Gibbs?!"

Each team member pointed in a different direction.

"Seriously, guys" Abby all but growled, "This is not a laughing matter!"

Tim looked up and said, "The Director called him into her office. She sounded aggravated… I wouldn't bother th…"

Abby had already taken off up the stairs. She passed (and ignored), the secretary, and barged into the office, all but shouting, "Gibbs! Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs!"

Gibbs made a 'settle down' motion with his hand while the Director assured Cynthia that everything was fine. Cynthia closed the door to the office to ensure privacy between the hyper lab-tech, Gibbs and the Director.

Abby was still bouncing on her heals almost muttering to herself before looking Gibbs straight in the eye and rambling, "I got the results on Hadrian, he couldn't have a better father. The father is alive and well and a really, really, _really_ good guy. But now that I'm here I'm not sure how to tell him. Oh, how do you tell someone that they're the father of a sweet sweet little boy who's been through horrendous horrendous things?! "

"Just tell me what you got Abbs"

Thinking, _he's asked for it_ , she then said "I know the test is right, I mean I ran it five times before re-calibrating the equipment and running it another five times. _Ten times can't_ _be wrong_ , Gibbs!" Here she handed one of the copies of the paternity test to Gibbs while the Director commandeered another.

Jenny Shephard scanned the document, raised her eyebrows in shock, before looking up at Gibbs.

He had gone incredibly still and appeared to be re-reading the results.

"Special, indeed" murmured the Director

Abby cast a questioning glance at the director and she consented to elaborate.

"Jethro here has already, mysteriously, gained permanent custody of the child"

"Yesssssss!" squealed Abby, ducking in to give the still, unresponsive Gibbs a quick hug and saying, "I want to be there when the rest of the team finds out!"

Gibbs gave an absent minded nod and Abby left to wait by the bullpen.

Gibbs took a heavy seat in front of the Director's desk.

Jenny poured Gibbs a glass of water before saying, "Congratulations, Jethro. It's a boy."

Gibbs gave the Director the _Really?_ look.

"I'm ordering you on family leave for this, Jethro."

Gibbs opened his mouth but Jenny cut him off.

"No, you not only have guardianship of the child, but he is now yours in blood as well. The case is done. You've got their confessions. He needs time to settle and get used to you. There's still the necessity of granting him American citizenship as well. You will both need time to get used to this."

Gibbs took a sip of water before answering, "I'm not arguing, Jen."

"Do you know who the mother is, Jethro?"

Gibbs sidestepped that question by answering, "She died in a war."

The Director kept silent as Gibbs pushed himself out of the chair and headed for the door. At it he turned his head slightly before saying sincerely, "Thank you, Jen." before opening the door and heading out to his team.

As he walked silently toward the bullpen, he heard DiNozzo questioning Abby, "Come on, Abbs! Who's the father. It must be quite the doozy for you to be so excited."

"Not telling, Tony."

"Is it the President? SecNav? Orlando Bloom?"

Abby pursed her lips and shook her head. She was not telling!

Gibbs decided to put Abby out of her misery, walked into the bullpen, slapped the back of Tony's head as he passed, and stated in a ringing voice, "It's Me."

"What? When? How?" asked Tony before thinking about his questions.

"How to ya Think, DiNozzo?"

"Right, erm, sorry, Boss"

"What about his mother, Boss" ask McGee bravely.

"Died in a war, McGee" bit out Gibbs while grabbing his pack and gun.

"The child, Abby?" he asked.

"With Ducky" she replied.

Gibbs nodded before continuing out the back of the bullpen to find his son.

The team shared looks of shock. Their boss had a son!

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Well, guys, The Results are in! I hope you liked this chapter!


	15. Chapter 14- Settling In

The usual disclaimers apply; I don't own Harry Potter or NCIS, nor do I benefit from the use of these characters beyond the satisfaction of their inclusion in my works.

Chapter 14- Settling In

When Gibbs went to collect the child from Ducky, he found the boy with his shirt off and Ducky gently massaging a numbing cream into the boy's back. Harry would occasionally shiver as Duckys hand passed over a particularly gruesome or sensitive scar. Despite the child facing away from the door, he gave a distinct twitch as Gibbs silently approached Ducky's domain. As the door opened and Gibbs walked through, the child looked over his shoulder and gave Gibbs a slight smile. Gibbs returned the smile with one of encouragement.

Seeing as Ducky was nearly done with the salve, Gibbs handed the child's shirt to him with a brief "stay here for a moment, Little Man."

He gestured for the Ducky to follow him into the hallway and the door closed behind them. Although they could still see the child shrugging into his shirt, the boy could not hear them.

"Duck. You know how I feel about secrets."

"Of course, Jethro. Tell no-one. If you must tell one other; there is no third best option for this" he waited patiently for Jethro to get to the point, an expectant look on his face.

"The boy's my son, Duck."

Ducky looked particularly poleaxed; "What do you mean the boy's your son? Why haven't you been raising him if that's the case?" Ducky looked to be roiling with questions.

"Didn't know about him" admitted Gibbs, catching Ducky off guard.

"How can you not know about your own child?"

"Best guess?"

Ducky nodded.

"This is the part the team doesn't' know… His mother was in Europe. She never knew my real name and was an operative in a covert war, one I was not assigned to. I doubt that she could have contacted me when our paths separated. I recently discovered Harry's mother died when Hadrian was one year old, a terrorist attack that he survived. He was sent to live with his closest known relatives."

"Oh dear" sighed Ducky. They both looked over at the boy; he was twisting his hands together and staring at the new shoes that Jethro had gifted him with earlier that day.

"Ducky."

Ducky turned toward Gibbs.

"This stays between us"

"Of course, Jethro."

Walking back into autopsy, Gibbs queried, "Ready to go, Little Man?"

Harry nodded his head and, in a show of courage, reached a hand out to Gibbs to hold as he slid himself down from the autopsy table. Gibbs didn't let go of his hand when he reached the floor though. _Just like Abby_ , though Harry, _maybe he likes to hold hands too? It is rather nice._

Gibbs escorted the child out of the building and, with a quick pit-stop for Chinese food, took him home. 

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As they drove onto the property, Hadrian felt the magic of the new wards tickle him as they crossed them. He almost giggled at the feeling. If he were to hazard a guess, the feelings they brought to him were warmth, comfort, and home, like they wanted him to be safe. He relaxed before removing his seatbelt.

As they walked into the house, they saw Severus sitting on the couch sipping a small glass of bourbon, and reading through a potion's journal. He looked more relaxed then he had ever had before in their presence.

"Good day?" asked Gibbs.

"Successful" claimed Severus.

Gibbs nodded his head to the side with a _there's more_ look.

Harry watched the by play but felt obliged to thank Severus for the wards; he could still feel their protection from the house.

"Uncle Severus?" he asked shyly.

"What is it, Harry?"

Hesitating only a short while before answering, he said "I just wanted to thank you for the wards. They make me feel…" here he paused for a second to identify the emotions before continuing, "warm and fuzzy inside. It's almost like they are telling me they'll keep me safe when we crossed them. Thank- you."

"You're very welcome, Hadrian. I'm glad you can feel the wards then- not many wizards can. Regardless, I have a gift for you." Severus produced a shopping bag from his pocket and enlarged it, much to the child's surprise- he didn't expect to get anything, let alone the many things that would be held in that bag.

Severus removed the contents of the bag by pulling out three pairs of jeans, black trousers, and kaki slacks, two pairs of basketball shorts, two, long sleeve, dress shirts (one white and one black), five t-shirts, black, navy, emerald, red, and royal blue in color, and two weeks' worth of pants.

Harry gapped at the assortment. The clothes were all in his size and still contained the shopping tags; they were brand new and just for him.

"It's too much" he whispered, not knowing how he could possibly repay him.

"Nonsense child, this is the smallest of wardrobes. I'm sure that Jethro will be adding to it as well when he has the time."

"That's right, Little Man. Uncle Severus is now as much your father as I am. He will see that you're safe, protected, and cared for… just as I will."

Harry was beginning to look overwhelmed, so Jethro placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and lead him up to his bedroom- formerly the guest bedroom _\- I'll have to do something about the decoration_ Jethro thought as he turned the child through the door frame.

Somehow all the clothes had followed them up the stairs, the tags were removing themselves, and they were then folding themselves on the top of the dresser. Jethro elected to ignore the sight and focus on the boy. Placing his hand on the child's chin, he brought the child's gaze toward his face before starting to sign to the child.

"How can I help?"

At this, tears started streaming down Harry's face, his nose scrunched up, and his eyes closed on their own accord.

Gibbs simply reached out to the child, gently manipulated him to sit on the bed, before pulling the unresisting, crying child into his arms. His actions eventually got through to the boy and he unconsciously leaned into the embrace and started mumbling "You care. You both care. You care. Do you really care? No, you actually care" before starting to cry harder in relief.

Throughout all of this, Gibbs held the child and, with his free arm, carded his fingers through the child's still raven-colored locks. Eventually the child cried himself to sleep and Gibbs headed downstairs to converse with Severus.

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"Jethro" Severus greeted

"Severus" Gibbs responded in turn

Seeing that the child was still upstairs and Gibb's shirt was extensively damp, Severus sent a drying charm to the shirt before answering Gibb's previous question.

"My day was a successful one. I first went to the United Stated Gringots' branch and had a meeting with the goblins. There was no trouble warding this house for the safety of Hadrian and I… I might have failed to mention that a non-magical individual also inhabits the home, but none-the-less, I had this done by lunchtime. It was a rush order, but so very worth it."

At Gibbs' questioning look he explained, "I did not expect that Hadrian would be able to feel the wards. In hindsight, I should have expected it with his abilities of wordless, wandless magic. However, this is a good thing as Hadrian's magic will likely subconsciously allow the magic of the wards to saturate anyplace he is in this house often. This means that there is a possibility that his magic will learn to project the protection wards as it has learned to sustain the numbing charm."

"You're saying that sense Hadrian can sense the wards and they make him happy, he might unconsciously recreate the effects into a walking ward?"

"It has never happened before, but with the way Hadrian's magic seems to work to accommodate him, I would not be surprised if that were the case. We shall have to wait and see, such an event, if it were to occur, may be years in the making."

Gibbs nodded and gestured for Severus to go on.

"After overseeing the construction of the wards, I picked up a wardrobe for Hadrian. We will have to add a wizzard's wardrobe as well, but that is not particularly urgent at the moment. I spoke with one of my contacts in the American Wizzarding Government and managed to fast-track the processing of your golden scroll through the non-magical side of things. Signatures and paperwork were automatically filed when the duplicate of your scroll came through. I didn't want Hadrian's guardianship in limbo in any world."

Gibbs nodded appreciatively, this move may have gotten him in hot water with the director, but it was better that Hadrian was properly claimed as soon as possible.

"I also retrieved literature regarding the magical world for you. It covers the politics of both the United Kingdom as well as politics of the States. I've found that obtaining citizenship for a child of an American citizen is particularly simple if going through the magical means of it. I took the liberty of retrieving the paperwork for you." He produced a half-foot stack of paperwork, a stack which Gibbs gave an incredulous look.

"This… is simple?" Gibbs asked.

"Wizzards, as a whole, don't like to double check things. They are rather lazy and have come to depend on magic. These forms are spelled for truthful answers. So long as you can answer truthfully that Hadrian is, indeed, your son in blood, then you will be able to secure him American citizenship on the magical side of things… like with the golden scroll, the paperwork will automatically be copied into the mundane's government files. While securing him citizenship may happen instantly in the wizarding side, it may take a couple weeks to get the citizenship filed on the muggle side" At Gibb's questioning look he supplied. "I don't have many American government contacts outside of the potions prevue. I decided that what favors I did have needed to be pulled for the child's guardianship, not necessarily his citizenship. American Magical citizenship will provide him fake documents until the non-magical side is processed."

Gibbs nodded his understanding, grabbing a pen, and starting on the paperwork.

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So… I did some research and have figured that the HP universe has been brought forward roughly 19 years in my fandom. This would place Harry's conception in 1998 and birth in 1999. His conception would be before the marriage of Gibbs' 4th wife, Stephanie Flynn,, but after the divorce from the 3rd. Assuming that Kate joins the NCIS team in 2004 (meaning that NCIS season 1 is placed in 2004), Harry would be 7, about to turn 8, years old sometime during the 4th season, when he is found by Gibbs. This would be in the year 2007. (At least that's what I think is happening in my fic.! It's gotten rather more complicated then it seemed to be in my head!) Shannon and Kelly were killed in late February, 1991, so however I crunch the dates, Gibbs never cheated on one of his wives… so no worries there.


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